Family Ties
by breakingdawn77
Summary: Astroid destroyed, secret revealed. Clueless no more, Danny Fenton is finally at peace with everything in his life. So what happens when Danielle crashes, quite literally, into his life? Will he be able to handle something that he had thought was impossible? Let's find out. Rated T, I'm paranoid. Danny/Dani Father/daughter. Credit for covert goes to Amethyst-Ocean. Sequal posted.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Danny Phantom, all rights go to Butch Hartman.

* * *

"Gotta find Danny, gotta find Danny. Gotta find….Danny…." Dani felt her body starting to fail her, her mind becoming heavily clouded as she tried to concentrate on her only goal. She could feel her grip on consciousness loosening more and more. Within minutes she lost all energy to fly and crash landed onto the building of Casper High. Her only thought as her vision sunk into darkness was, "please sense me da…."

* * *

Lancer's class, as usual, was boring. Math had to be one of the worse subjects of the day, and by the utter lack of interest of the other students, he could tell that he wasn't alone in that thought. He looked over to his best friend, Tucker; He was mindlessly staring off into space. While Sam Mason, his other best friend, also girlfriend – he was still not used to saying that ever since the asteroid almost destroyed their home three months ago - was doodling on her notebook.

Unfortunately - or fortunately, depending on how you view it - a cool blue wisp escaped Danny's mouth. Sam and Tucker's heads snapped up to attention at the low gasp he made, so attuned to his sense going off by now. He quickly raised his hand, which gained attention from all his classmates, who were all getting used to Fenton being Phantom.

"You may go, Mr. Fenton, Mr. Foley, and Ms. Manson. " Mr. Lancer said. "Please be quick about it though. Just because normally ghosts don't need an education, doesn't mean you don't. Please Mr. Baxter, take notes for them while they're out." Dash gave a quick nod and flipped to a blank page to start jotting down notes for the three.

Transforming into his other half, Danny jumped from his seat, flying from the classroom down through the hall, Sam and Tucker trailing right behind him, both wearing the specter-deflector, a wrist ray, and a Thermos attached to the former mentioned. Rounding the corner, they were met with silence. Nothing but empty hallways was before them and it unsettled the team. Where was the ghost? Sam was the first to speak.

"That's strange... Usually we're face to face with a ghost by now."

"Maybe they were just passing through?" Tucker offered. However, he didn't sound convinced himself. A ghost typically never just 'passed' through the school. If they came here it was either to torment and fight Danny, or they needed his help. That was the only reason.

"Let's split up. You guys have your Fenton phones?" Both nodded. "Good. Tuck, you take this level, check all the rooms, cafeteria, and bathroom. Knock before entering the girl's though." He received an eye roll from Tuck for that one. "Sam, you check the lower level, make sure you cover the whole floor. I'll check the roof; maybe they're out in the courtyard. If we don't find anything I'll contact Valerie so we have extra eyes out. If you find anything, call immediately."

"Danny, we've done this a thousand times, don't worry so much, we can handle ourselves." Sam gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before running down the stairs. Tucker took off in the opposite direction. "Yeah, that's what you guys always say before something happens." Turning intangible, he flew through the roof. Surveying the courtyard, there was not a thing in sight except for some birds and squirrels... nothing out of the ordinary.

"I really don't have a good feeling about this. It's too quiet." Suddenly, there was a whisper of a groan from behind him. Turning around he was met with a semi-unconscious Danielle. Running over to her, he picked her up in his arms. Her outer appearance looked horrible. Danny could tell she was starting to destabilize again. However, because of her unconscious state, her body was stabilizing again.

The green goo was forming back to her body, her powder white hair was coming out of its signature ponytail. Her costume wasn't ripped, which made him sigh in relief: she hadn't been fighting ghosts. Why was she so unstable then? Was the invention from his dad all those months ago wearing off? What more could they do to stabilize her? How was he going to explain who she was to his parents? While they accepted his ghost half, could they really accept someone that Vlad created, no matter how innocent she was in all of it? So many questions were swarming through his head. So many answers he was scared to know.

Picking her up, Danny noticed that she wore a slightly heavy worn brown messenger bag. Slipping it onto his shoulder, he picked up the Fenton phone and dialed Sam and Tucker. As he took an actual good look at her, he could tell that the two years alone, minus the small visits when fixing her and the asteroid, had really taken its toll on her. Gone was most of her baby fat that had plumped her cheeks. She had way more structure to them, something that almost reminded him of Sam.

She had a few light scars scattered about her body and it made his stomach drop at the thought of how she might have come to receive them. Standing to pick her up, there was something else that he noticed. While because of his ghost half, he could easily lift her; however, she had grown in height and he needed to use both his arms to support her now, compared to when he first met her at twelve. Then, he could easily carry her with one. For some reason, his throat tightened at the thought that she was growing up so fast.

"I found out who it was. It's Danielle." He said into the Fenton phone.

There was a pause before Tucker asked, "Your clone cousin? What'd she want? Is everything ok?" Worry was laced in his voice.

"I don't know, she's unconscious. I'm gonna take her back home and see what my parents can do to help, I think she's destabilizing again."

Sam was the one to speak this time. "We've got you covered, we'll let Lancer know a family emergency came up and that you had to fly home."

The feeling of gratitude never swayed from Danny, for he knew he had the best people looking out for him and he would never know how to repay them. "Thanks guys, I owe you. Love you." The latter part of the sentence was directed towards Sam, who replied in earnest.

Clutching the fourteen year old to his chest, he took off towards Fenton Works, praying that his parents could come up with something to cure her. She was all alone for so many months and the guilt from knowing that she had no one to look after her was always in the back of his head.

He'd never forgive himself if she died because he didn't convince her to stay. The only thing he could think of as he flew over Amity Park:

Please be okay.

* * *

A/N: Okay, I have a question, was she ten or twelve when she was first introduced? Because I'm going off of her being twelve then, and now that it's two years later, fourteen (Danny sixteen). Please correct me if I'm wrong. so, if I'm being honest, this one wouldn't have a very heavy plot Probably 20 or so chapters. This would be more of a prequel to a story that I would love to do, containing time travel, Dark Dan, and heavy plot. Please review!

A/N: Edited 1-21-18, a big shout out to my beta reader: silente faery! Thank you so much for your help, it looks so much better! Until next time! 3


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, here's part 2! I'm considering making this a multi-chapter, thanks to Jerrrey4! He told me where to go to get a better understanding of plot progression and it's really inspiring. Thanks again! I do not own Danny Phantom. All rights and characters go to Butch Hartman.

* * *

Upon entering his home, carrying Danielle, he went to meet with his sister. He found her nose in a book. Ghost envy: The reason why. Read the title. She looked up from the book, about to ask why he was home so early when her eyes caught Dani. "Who's that, what's going on?"

He adjusted Dani for a moment to take the messenger bag from around his torso and threw it onto the couch.

"Long story, I'll explain once I find mom and dad. Where are they?" His question was rushed. How long did she have before it was before it was too late? The words dead and failure were running wildly around in his head and he couldn't shut them out.

"They're in the lab. I'm home for the weekend, it's Friday, remember?" Danny all but sprinted to the lab, keeping a good hold on the girl in his arms. Jazz followed closely behind. "Another question, why does she look so much like you?" Before he could answer, he went up to his parents, who were looking over some ecto-samples he assumed. They gasped when they saw Dani.

Before they could say anything, Danny said, "I'll explain the longer version of the story in a minute, but in short. She's my clone that Vlad made. She's good. Her ghost half is unstable, though, and I need the Ecto-Dejecto, quickly!"

Jack wasted no time running to the cabinets and pulling it out, and handed it to Danny. Setting the fourteen-year-old on the table, he sprayed it over her, hoping it would work.

Within minutes, Dani's glowing emerald eyes opened. She slowly sat up to see her surroundings. Blinking a few times, she swung her feet over the side of the table. She looked to Danny.

"What happened? I feel like I got hit by a bus." She held her head as the room around her started to finally stay in one place.

"I don't know. That's something you gotta tell us." He paused before continuing.

"How about we all go upstairs and I tell you the beginning and then Danielle can fill in what she's been up to and what brought her here."

They all gave a nod of approval and with Danny wrapping an arm around Danielle's waist to support her, as she was still a bit weak from earlier, they head upstairs. They relayed everything to his family: From their first encounter to Dani briefly betraying him, because that's all she had known and because Vlad needed Danny's morph DNA, to Valerie becoming an ally, at least to Dani, and saving them from Vlad. Just as they were finishing the story, Sam and Tucker barged in.

"They're caught up." He answers them before they can even ask. They look to Dani.

"How are you feeling? From what Danny said, it sounded like you were on death's door. No pun intended." Tucker finished lamely. They move to sit on the couch next Danny.

"I want to make it clear Danielle, that while you were made at the hands of Vlad, we don't blame you for any of this," Maddie said.

Dani breathed a sigh of relief at the acceptance. She could recognize the sincerity that gleamed in Maddie's eyes. She couldn't hide the fear that they would call her an abomination.

"Fentons stick together, that's a big trait in this family, and fudge, lots of fudge," Jack added as an afterthought. "Speaking of which..." He got up to grab the mentioned food item.

Maddie went on. "One thing I don't understand, though, you say Dani is a clone of Danny. If that were true, his X and Y chromone should've taken place, which would have resulted in a male. In other words, Vlad would've had to find another X component from another person for her to be female. A female person. Genetically I'm also surprised that she isn't exactly your age, seeing as he was trying to form her from your biology. "

Dani's eyes shot down, trying to avoid everyone's gaze.

Sam took notice of this. "Danielle, what aren't you telling us?" Standing up, she grabbed the worn satchel and opened it. She pulled out two laptops, a PDA, a few folders, and a flash drive. "Do you have Tucker's whole room in there?" The six of them let out a couple chuckles, while Tucker just narrowed his eyes in a glare. Dani motioned for them to gather around her as she plugged things into the computer and started everything up.

"After the government seized Vlad's house, I wanted to grab any information I could about myself before they could. While you're a beloved hero in the eyes of many Danny, I had a feeling I wouldn't be so accepted, or especially if they could keep quiet about me, seeing as no one but you knows I exist right now." She picked up the vanilla folder and flipped through the pages. "Thankfully I was able to get in undetected and grab everything."

"He had so many files on all the clones he had created, most of all me." She pulls out a paper from the folder, before handing it to Maddie, her hands viciously shaking with anxiety. Maddie read out loud. "Clone M2DH7's human's side is finally stable, and remains so. The previous clones that held Daniel's hair, spit, skin, and mouth DNA had failed, where this seems to have succeeded. I will update my electronic files if anything changes." Maddie's face started to turn pale. He had used all the possible basic DNA samples that he could to clone. If Vlad had gotten a piece of DNA from Danny's ghost core, for a ghost that was the only thing that had allowed them to reproduce, and it was mixed with his human DNA….. That would mean...

"There's more." Danny interrupted Maddie's train of thought. She pulls up another log entry and pressed play. Vlad's voice echoes throughout the living room.

"Danielle was a success; the correct DNA from two partners was a success. She is the first clone to have a rational and reasoned thought process. However, the tests that I've been running show that from what I got from the human, Samantha Manson, and after I combined their genetics intervene, still makes her human side unstable. All I need to completely make the 'Daniel' clone stable is mid-morph DNA." The video finished and the screen faded to black.

They all sat there in shock except Dani, who had days to come to term with this.

"Mom, what does that mean…..? He … doesn't mean what I think he means…. right? He made a clone, right?" Danny's voice trailed off hoping for a rational reason.

She didn't even hear her son's question though, not until Jazz yells a quite loud "Mom!" She blinked her mind back into focus. Her eyes met the icy blue eyes of Danielle's. Icy blue. Just like her son's.

She could tell in that moment that the girl in front of her was undoubtedly her son's. While she had Danny's icy blue eyes, and his defined rounded nose and small thin lips, she had Sam's high structured face, with a more pronounced jaw line than Danny's.

"I..." She started. A pin could be heard if dropped, it was that painfully silent. Jack was even unusually quiet. "From the video and documented evidence, and that doesn't even include the other videos that we haven't even watched yet; I don't think she's your clone."

She met Sam's and Danny's gaze.

"I think, though intravenous, your DNA, I think... she's your biological...daughter. Which would explain why she needs your mid-morph DNA. It's like finding a kidney match for someone who needs it."

Danny's heart immediately dropped to his stomach. A daughter. That word sounded so strange and foreign. Something impossible.

I have a fourteen-year-old daughter at sixteen.

The universe once again, proved that he could not and will not ever have a normal life.

* * *

A/N: Edited 1-21-18, Shout Out to BrownTyto for the science help of explaining how Danielle is biologically Sam and Danny's daughter, and silente faery, for Beta reading my story! You both are awesome! Until next time 3


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, chapter three! Thank you, everyone. I love all the feedback, I really appreciate it. On with the story. Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, all rights go to Butch Hartman.**

* * *

The shock wore off slowly. Danielle was his daughter. He's a dad. How? As he stared at the young girl sitting just mere feet from him and Sam, he had to wash away a fear of rejection and abandonment from her head. He might not have known what the heck he was doing though. One thing's for sure though. He wasn't Vlad.

I'm gonna be better for her. She deserves that much at least. The how part was the troubling question though.

While the silence in the room was heavy, it gave Danny a chance to focus on Danielle. Her eyes were empty, laced with tiredness, and bloodshot from tears along with her dampened cheeks. Her midnight colored hair was unkempt. Unwashed with grease that could have been there for months. Her light blue sweatshirt was becoming too tight to fit her filling figure, a couple of holes littered throughout. How was she still alive? How could he let her go through all of this alone?

Before he was able to break the silence, she leapt from the couch, transformed, and flew out the door. He heard his mom say, "Go after her," when he was already halfway out the door. She was fast but since she was still weak from destabilizing he was barely able to catch up to her. Grabbing her by the shoulder before she was just out of his reach, he pulled her to his chest, slowing down his speed before stopping altogether.

"Let me go." She struggled against his hold. "No." He replied while he kept a safe grip around her waist. "Now tell me why you just abruptly left like that?" Her struggles ceased, but she avoided his gaze.

" 'Cause. I could see the look in your eyes... in everyone's. I'm sure you don't want the responsibilities of taking care of a fourteen-year-old. It's better if I just leave before you feel like you have to take care of me." His head swirled at this. She viewed herself so low and some of that was his fault. If he had been there, at least as a cousin, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad; however, he knew it was that fruit loop's fault too. He never felt so much anger towards his archenemy until now. He's lucky he's in space.

"Danielle, just because the situation isn't easy doesn't mean that we're gonna throw you out onto the streets. You're family, and family sticks together. This isn't going to be easy. I'm only sixteen; I don't exactly know how to be a parent, especially to someone two years younger than me. But if you're willing to meet me halfway, then I'm right there with you." Loosening his grip on her waist, he brought her head to his shoulder in a hug, which she returned in reply.

"What about Sam, and the rest of your family?" She asked, her words muffled in his neck.

He pulled his head away from the hug to answer her. "Our family already accepts you. Sam, Tucker and I have been in so many crazy situations, it's almost second nature. While this is a little situation is a bit more complex, it doesn't mean we can't adjust. We all will, including Sam." She gave a jerk of a nod, and in response, he gave a whisper of a smile. Letting go of the younger halfa, he looked in the direction of home.

"Ready to go?"

Smiling, she says, "Yeah. Let's go da- Danny." He caught her mix up but let it go for now. They weren't ready for those titles yet. As they shot off, Danny knew one thing for sure:

They'd get there, eventually.

* * *

Once back home both halfa's turn into their human form, and were greeted by Tucker, Sam, and Jazz. "Where are mom and dad?" He asked them.

Tucker was the one to answer this time. "The lab. We watched a couple more videos. You're gonna want to sit down for this."

Before he did though, he turned to Sam. "How are you doing in all of this?"

In all of the craziness, Sam hadn't really been able to voice her thoughts, too absorbed in her thoughts to say anything. "We'll talk later. All of us." The latter part was directed at Dani.

The young girl gulped, while there wasn't any anger to Sam's words, she was still worried about being accepted by her. She was her mother, after all, and while Danny was pretty easy to read, Sam wasn't... and that terrified her.

"For now, we have some information that you need to know. We found out how the fruit loop got a hold on my DNA. Apparently, he broke into my house late at night and stole a hairbrush and some clothing for a sample." Danny's eyes briefly lit up with green energy from anger. Maybe I could take a trip to space this weekend.

"Also why the ecto-dejecto only lasted for so long." Jazz continues on. "It's like giving blood to a human; it works to give her strength, but it only lasts for so long when you're not treating the correct problem. What she needs is... well..." She trailed off.

"A mid-morph sample." Danny finished. Putting his head in his hands, he tried to rub his headache away. He wasn't going to let Dani die. That's what would happen if she didn't eventually get a sample of his morph DNA. Fighting ghosts took too much of a toll on her body. The Ecto-Dejecto might not always be there when they need it, and the mid-morph DNA was a permanent solution. Not on his life or afterlife would he ever let something happen to her again if he had the power to change it.

"That's why mom and dad are in the lab. They're trying to find a less painful way to extract a sample from you."

Dani cut in. "Maybe we shouldn't do this. Remember how bad it was when Vlad tried to take it from you? You could've died. We can just keep on using the ecto-dejecto until we find a completely painless way for me to be complete."

Danny could tell she was thinking a million things all at once with the worry that had fallen on her face. She didn't want people to hate her because of the pain he'd have to go through for her. She didn't want to be a burden.

Jazz put a comforting hand on her shoulder, forcing her to meet her gaze. "Dani, the ecto-dejecto might not always work. Vlad didn't care if he killed Danny, or what pain he would cause him. Our parents are going to do it as quickly and as painlessly as they can. It'll be over, and no one and I mean no one in this household will blame you. Understand?"

Wiping a tear from her eye, she gave a quick nod, threw her arms around Jazz's neck, and whispered a thank you.

"Now come on, you look like you haven't eaten in days, I'll cook you something up. Mom and dad should be up any minute." Just as she finished her sentence, they came in the kitchen.

"We've found a way to build an exact replica of Vlad's machine that will take a sample of your mid-morph DNA Danny, but it's gonna take a few days to get the parts and assemble," Maddie explained.

"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, you don't know how much this means to me," Danielle says.

Jack picked the girl up effortlessly and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. "We're family kiddo, call me gramps!" She gave a slight chuckle as he released her and set her back on the ground. He bounces back from earth-shattering news easily. I've never been so lucky. "Okay, gramps."

Days later, as promised, the machine was done. Everyone was gathered in the lab, including Valerie.

"So how's this supposed to work exactly?" The red huntress asked.

"Simply enough, Danny goes in, we have to restrain him, he gets a few shocks, which will make him instinctively change into his ghost form; however, because of the pain level going through him, it won't allow him to go completely ghost. While in his mid-morph stage, we quickly, with a needle, take a sample of his DNA from his core and that's it." Looking to Danny, Maddie continued.

"You can't resist this. The more you resist the more we'll have to turn up the electricity. You have to against every bone in your body and let this happen. I don't want to turn it up higher than I have to. It's going to be painful as is."

Danny scoffed a little. "I've handled electricity before mom. Remember, Vlad tried this before?" He noticed his mom flinched at this. Her eyes were downcast. She blinked for a few minutes, trying to get that horrible thought out of her head. He knew she felt guilty for not be able to protect him from the crazed fruit loop. If only she understood it wasn't her fault.

"I know, but please, take this seriously. I want to get through this with as little pain to you as possible."

Sighing, he relented. He turns his attention to Dani and Sam. "I don't think you should see this. How about you go upstairs and read some comics or something." He knew it was no use, those two were more stubborn than Skulker when he and Ember had a fight and wanted to hunt him, but he had to try though.

"No," Both girls say in unison.

"You're doing this for me, Danny. I should have to stay and watch." Sam continued, "And we've been through everything together, I'm not gonna leave you just because your hero-complex is getting in the way." A playful smirk appears on her lips and was so contagious that he couldn't help but give one of his own.

Tucker opened his mouth to say something, but Danny quickly cut him off. "No offense dude, but we don't need a jinxing moment." The techno-geek shrugged in agreement.

"Wait." They all turned to Maddie. The ghost hunter grabbed a needle and went over to Sam. "Now that I'm thinking about it, we should get a sample from Sam to make sure Danielle's ghost half and human have are equally balanced DNA. With a nod of consent from Sam, she stuck the needle in her arm, drawing a small amount of blood from her. "There." Putting the blood into a test tube, she laid to the side to use it later.

"Okay, I'm ready." Danny said.

Sam watches from the sidelines. Something she hated doing but knew had to be done. They strapped him in the steel chamber, powering it up. She could tell that worry seeped into Danny's mind, but he puts on a brave face for everyone. Even for her. But she still caught a glimmer of anxiety that flashed in his eyes. As the electrical shock was administered, he cried out in pain as those two glowing circles appeared around his waist.

Instinctively, she grabbed Dani, pulling her towards her chest to try to shield her away from the painful event that was unfolding. A reflex, almost. She didn't even realize what she was doing until the cries of pain from Danny subsided and Jack happily yelled, "we got it!" and the young girl pulled away from the embrace. Neither one voiced their thoughts on the embrace. I'll have time to think about it later, right now Danny is the main focus here.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Danielle asked as Maddie, Tucker, and Jack went to help Danny out of the chamber and upstairs.

"He's going to be just fine Dani, he's been through worse." Jazz said, comforted her.

"Okay." She agreed but didn't sound so confident.

Sam nodded in agreement. They have been through worse. They'd figure this one out.

Once Danny was upstairs and in bed for the night, Maddie came to sit next to Danielle, who was trying to get her mind off of everything by reading a book. Everyone had long since left.

Maddie's eyes narrowed at her, "It's getting late." She checked the clock mounted on the wall near the kitchen. 10:30.

"Yeah." She agreed and returns to her book.

In a blink, her book was out of her hands. She looks to Maddie in surprise.

"There's a guest bedroom next to Danny's. March your butt up there and get to bed. You have a long day ahead of you as well; it's going to take a lot out of you when we put the sample in you tomorrow. Also, Jazz should have some old pjs stored away that could fit well for now." She was about to protest, but the glare she received told her to shut her mouth. With a sigh of frustration, she climbed the stairs to the bedrooms. Were grandparents always this hard to deal with?

She honestly couldn't wait to find out.

* * *

 **Thank you again BrownTyto, for the suggestion of also adding Sam's blood into the mix to help stabilize her, while I didn't go into detail about it, I definitely wanted it in there, because it needed to be emphasized, that while the focus is on Dani getting the morph DNA from Dani, Sam stills plays a huge part in being Dani's mother. Also, I wanted to show a moment between the two while Danny was in the chamber, which is why it was as simple as getting a blood sample.**

 **Edit 1-21-18: Thanks to my beta reader** silente **faery for fixing up the chapter! Until next time 3**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4! Woot Woot. Sorry, about that. Thanks, once again, for the feedback!. You guys are amazing. Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.**

* * *

After the stabilization process, Dani was wiped. After she stumbled out of the chamber, she was caught in a pair of strong arms, who brought her upstairs to her bedroom that she was using at the moment. Her eyes were too heavy to focus on who was carrying her. She fell asleep before she could even thank the person.

After putting Danielle to bed, Danny rejoined his sister in the living room. His parents were at the store getting more food to be able to feed everyone; Tucker had to go home for dinner. What confused him was Sam had been here, but now that he looked around the room, all he could find was Jazz, with the Fenton helmet on, doing a bit of exercise.

"Did Sam leave?" A nod from his sister is all he got in response. "Did she say where she was going?"

Shrugging, she said, "Just said that she needed to go think. Danny, a lot has been thrust on her, on both of you, but she's different from you, she's gonna process it differently."

"I know. I think I might know where she is. I'm gonna talk to her alone." Transforming, he took off to the one spot he hoped he was right about.

"Be careful little brother. This situation is more complex than words can say." She whispered into the empty air.

* * *

A bright flash of light went off behind Sam, and without looking behind her, she knew who it was. He sat next to her and for a moment it was silent. A nice calm went over them as they looked out the sun setting behind the trees, creating a splatter of red hues, light pinks, and a tint of purple that was starting to take over before night claimed the whole sky. The grass beneath her was cooling to her fingers. It was a moment of peace that they hardly ever got.

"I'm scared." Sam was the first to break the silence. "I'm scared because I don't have a clue as to how to parent a fourteen-year-old. Heck, we were just that age two years ago. Two years ago Danny! I can still remember how it felt after you came out of that portal. How scared Tucker and I were."

"What if we mess up, what if I mess up? I don't have the best examples of parents. How do I even tell them?" Pulling the goth girl into his arms, he noticed she was slightly shaking. Trying to soothe her fears, he rubbed her arms, giving her a kiss on her temple. Her head was swimming with information, and she didn't know to quiet it all.

"I have a daughter, we have a daughter." Acknowledging the word somehow made it more real, and more dream-like at the same time. She couldn't stop the tears that started to flow. "What do we do?" She whispered into the crook of his neck.

"I don't honestly know how this is going to go, Sam. I could ask Clockwork, but I doubt he'd tell us." They both gave a slight chuckle at that. "I do know, that as long as I'm with you," He grabbed her finger with the class ring that he'd given her when they first started dating ring and started to play with it, "everything will be okay. We'll face everything together, and we'll make it." A small smile graced her lips and she leaned in to give him a small peck on the lips. He wiped her tears away and snuggled closer to her.

"No matter what, if you need to talk, if your fears to start to consume you, I'm here. Our families, and yes, probably yours too, at the very least your grandma, will be there for us."

"I'm scared that she's gonna want to call us mom and dad right away. I'm not ready for that yet." Danny shook his head. "No, she understands. I don't think a part of her is even ready for that yet; not after Vlad."

Silence cane over them once again, but this time it was even more peaceful. The sun was starting to sink lower into the horizon, and the deep purple of the night was taking over the sky. Suddenly something hit Danny's head with a hard thunk!

"Ow!" Rubbing the back of his head with one hand, he picked up the device with the other.

"The boo-merang? What's it doing here?"

"Hey, dufus!" They turn to see Dannielle in her ghost form. "Why'd you leave me there? I went downstairs to have a snack and Grandpa starts going on about his latest invention about gho-" She stops mid-sentence. She finally notices Sam next to said dufus. "...Oh, um, hi?" It came out more of a question than a statement. Danny patted the ground next to him, motioning for her to join them.

"What are you doing here Danielle? You should be in bed resting." Giving a slight scoff and a roll of her eyes, which was such a Danny mannerism that Sam couldn't help but notice. "I'm fine Danny. Trust me; being stabilized really helps with that kind of thing." She looked to Sam, and then down to the tips of her shoes, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment, her demeanor changing from upbeat and happy to nervous and distant. Sam could tell she was trying to direct her attention to anywhere but her.

The air was thick around, almost uncomfortably so, but Danielle knew she had to break it. "I know this isn't what you want." She forced her eyes to meet those of the goth. "I'm not exactly daughter type material, and you're nowhere near ready to be parents."

"But, I don't care about titles. You're not ready to be called mom and honestly, I'm not ready to call you that myself. Vlad really ruined the images of parents for me." She gave a dry chuckle at that. "All I need is family. Whether that's as cousins, sister and brother, whatever… just somewhere to call home. Someone that I know will be there for me at the end of the day." She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Whatever may come, I want to face it together." She held out her gloved hand to Sam in a sign of a handshake. The older teen looked at her hand, thinking of all it may mean; and realizing, in that moment, that it was okay to be afraid of what is to come. There's no pressure to be perfect. There's no pressure for her to be a parent.

Taking the outstretched hand, she pulls on it, brings her into a light hug, no pressure to it whatsoever. She feels Danny put his arms around them. 'Who would've thought that I'd be in a group hug and not be utterly repulsed by it?'

Pulling away, they all looked at the stars that danced across the cooling, dark nighttime sky. Danielle suddenly saw a star shoot across the sky and only one thought came to mind as she raised her middle finger to the sky:

"Fuck you, Vlad."

"Danielle- We don't have a middle name for you yet- Fenton! Language!" Both parents say in unison.

* * *

 **A/N: I want to address a question that was left in the comments. Someone asked if I would be de-aging Danielle. I'm sorry, but I won't be doing that. I'm going as close to the canon timeline in the show that I can, and seeing as two summers had passed (Freakshow episode, and the camp episode) which would bring them to their current age. I honestly love the dynamic of the close age because I feel like this is danny's life. It's unconventional, weird, and so complicated, so, yeah. I'm sorry if the age thing itches you the wrong way, but after a few chapters her age won't be mentioned as much, so if you wanna imagine her younger, that's okay :) Thank you everyone, and please read and review! Until next time! (P.s. I know this was a short chapter, but I really wanted to capture Sam's feelings in all this craziness)**

 **Edit 1-22-18: Thank you silente faery for Beta reading my story!Until next time! 3**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5! I think this is one of my favorites, personally, I love shopping, but it's fun to write Sam's feelings toward it. XD Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever owned Danny Phantom. (Only in my dreams, lol)**

* * *

'Something feels off,' Danielle realized. 'Nothing bad has happened so far today.' She woke up, ate a light breakfast, assisted her grandparents with an invention, and showered which she loved, and got dressed.

It was the weekend once again, which meant that Aunt Jazz, who bluntly insisted on her calling her 'aunt', was home from Harvard for the weekend, while Danny and Tucker had important business to attend to in the Ghost Zone with Frostbite for reasons unknown to her. The only reason that Sam didn't go that Dani knew was that Aunt Jazz had begged her not to.

What was weird was that Sam and Aunt Jazz had been talking in whispers all morning. Whenever they noticed that she had entered the room, they'd quickly drop whatever conversation they were having. However, instead of thinking too deeply on it, she just shrugged it off and went about her business. Suddenly her grandparents appeared from the kitchen. She noticed devices in her grandpa's hands.

"Okay, we're heading to the ghost convention in Chicago. We'll be back Sunday night. Jazzarincess, you're in charge. Please make sure your brother minds his curfew if there's no ghost." Walking over to Danielle, Maddie placed a quick kiss on her head, and she couldn't hide a smile that formed on her lips.

I never thought I'd have this.

Once gone, she could hear Sam and her aunt continue their quiet conversation. They always forgot her ghost heightened hearing.

"...but you know how much I despise doing anything closely related to this." She overheard Sam say.

"Yeah, but this is for ghost getter number four!" Jazz insisted.

This time she heard Sam sigh in frustration. Over the past week she had learned that Jazz loves coming up with team names and one of them is 'Ghost getters,' which Sam hates with a passion.

"She deserves to do this Sam, and she kinda needs it. She can't keep wearing hand-me-downs that don't really fit. She needs to experience something normal. Yes, your life isn't, but at least you have aspects of it, school, dating. She's never had that once. Come on, please!?"

"Fine." Sam relented.

As Dani heard the sound of chairs moving and footsteps coming her way, she grabbed the TV remote and shut the TV off, in anticipation for what was to come.

"Danielle, we have some great news!" Her aunt happily exclaimed. Sam just rolled her eyes. "We're taking you... Shopping! You really need some new clothing." Her hands were shaking with excitement, and the gleam in her eyes makes it hard not to be at least a little excited herself.

"Before you say anything," Sam cut in, "No arguments about us spending money on you. Clothes are a need."

"Okay, when do we leave?" Dani asked.

"How about right now? It's ten thirty and the shops should just be opening. We'll get first grabs and then we'll stop by the food court and grab lunch. Sound good?"

After a nod of the head, the young girl went off to put her shoes on, even though her toes were starting to get way too cramped in them, and secretly one of those toes were poking through the bottom.

They hopped in Jazz's car and went speeding down the road to the mall. When they entered, Dani's eyes widened in excitement. There were outlet stores beyond what she could see. She had overheard girls talk about stores and shopping, but never in her wildest dreams would the stores look so big.

She almost screamed like a kid in a candy store.

Oh the irony...

* * *

First, they went to get her underwear. She was not used to wearing a bra, but after trying one on, it wasn't the worst. It actually felt normal, and the thought had brought a couple tears to her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away. 'It's okay now, I'm safe, and with people that care, people that want me to have a normal life.'

They left with so many pairs of undergarments that she wondered how the dresser is going to fit all of them, let alone other clothing.

The second store they went to was one of Jazz's picks: Forever 21.

It seemed nice. She also wanted to appease her aunt. This was the only family that cared about her. She didn't want to mess up. The first outfit she picked out was a pink jumper with black leggings. It was cute, but it just was not her.

Sam could tell something was off about Danielle as they wandered around the store. She noticed when the young girl's attention drifted to the over baggy sweatshirts and plaid shirts in the boy section. Rolling her eyes, she grabbed Danielle's wrist and called Jazz over her shoulder to follow.

They made their way to Hot Topic, and Sam smiled in victory as Danielle's eyes brimmed with happiness. Without a word, she dashed into the clothing section. Jazz was about to say something when Sam held up her hand to stop her. "Let her be. She's part Danny, she always has taken after his style. You can't change something she likes." Closing her mouth, she looked on at her niece in amusement as the girl picked out everything she could get her hands on.

"Maybe we should help her with clothing sizes. She looks to be about your size and height, albeit, definitely skinner from what her diet use to be, but it's a good start." They went to assist the young halfa.

The first outfit was, in Sam's opinion, the cutest. It was a Wife-Beater shirt, with a button-down plaid sweatshirt. Black, ripped jeans that fit nicely, a pair of converse, and finally a red beanie, much like her old one. She liked the other ones as well, but eventually it all became a blur of outfits and one lone pair of pajamas.

When they were ringing up the clothing, Jazz tried to pay, but Sam was quicker and handed her credit card to the cashier, muttering how her parents wouldn't mind if she had a shopping day. All three carried heaps of bags on each arm as they left.

As the clock hit twelve, they made their way to the food-court. For the millionth time today, Danielle's mouth dropped in utter shock. There were so many food places: Taco Bell, Taco Johns, McDonald's, and Subway to name a few. She turned her head towards the older women, silently asking permission.

Giving a chuckle, Sam handed Dani her credit card and watched as she raced off towards Taco Johns. She didn't think she'd ever seen this girl with so much unguarded happiness in her eyes. Her stomach gives a little warm tickle at the thought of seeing her that happy.

She sat next to Jazz once she retrieved a veggie burger from McDonald's. She notices Danielle going from one food store to the next, getting a little bit of everything from all of them.

Danielle finally returned to the table and set her food tray down... full of meat.

Sam looked to Jazz, "She's definitely Danny's kid. Can I get a blood test?" She joked.

Danielle was digging into her food, well, inhaling was a better word, to the point where Sam started working that she was gonna choke.

Sam took her eyes off Dani for just a moment as the smell of something wonderful filled the crowded court. "Oh, I know that smell!" Sam remarked with a smirk.

Danielle's eyes scanned the room while she inhaled her food fast into her mouth. Her eyes landed on a small groceries store. All organic from what she could tell. Letting her senses guide her, her eyes were directed to a simply dressed woman holding a small basket. It seemed that's where the smell was originating from.

Dropping her food, she made a dash for the basket. Inside of it were these poufy brown lumps of bread labeled, 'Bran muffins.' She picked up the new to her invention and starts slightly squishing it in a playful investigation.

"Excuse me Lil' miss?" A plain-dressed, brown graying hair, woman behind the counter asked."I see you found our Oven-fresh Ultra Vegan, Gluten Free, Organic, Cane Sugar only, Bran Moofins." With all the gibberish that had just been thrown at her, the one word she couldn't get past was... "Moofins," Dani imitated in surprise. "Ah, yes the Moo, in our Moofins is because the recipe, along without entire store, is from the proud dairy state of Wisconsin." Annoyed by the originating location of the store, Dani quickly paid the cashier and sped back to the table with her prize.

Her eyes lit up as the food touched her taste buds. "This is the best thing ever," Dani admitted. Sam looked down to see what new beast Dani had sunk her teeth into this time, only to be shocked at the sight of her all-time favorite treat in the hands of her little carnivorous friend.

She broke apart some of the muffins to hand to Sam. They both gave a little sigh of contentment at the taste of the sweet goodness.

"Hm, maybe some good things can come from Wisconsin." Dani admitted.

They all try to ignore the bitterness in her voice.

* * *

"Now that we finally got that belly of yours full, let's walk it off. I want to get you something that you'll have on you in case of emergency." Jazz shot Sam a look. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Sam nods her head, "Yep, a cell phone."

"Oh! I can get a specialty made 'Ghost getters' cell phone case!" The groan that was admitted from both girls made Jazz's eyes narrow in a slight scowl. Ignoring the protest of her two friends, they started to make their trek back to the other end of the mall where the cell phone store was located.

As the three started to walk down the crowded mallscape, they saw a brightly lit store coming up to their right.

"Can it be?" Jazz yells. She ran up to the store's main showcase and pressed her hands firmly on the glass. "It is! it is! It's the Ultimate Cuddle BearBert XL!"

Sam and Dani picked up the pace to see the frantic college student ogling over a stuffed bear so large it could easily out sumo Jack. Stepping away from the window, Jazz rushed past the two and burst into the store.

Sam smiled. "I guess a little detour won't hurt us."

As she walked towards the door she was surprised to see Dani standing in place." What's the matter, Ghost Getter number four? Trying to recover from all those tacos you just put away?" Dani's face heated up in shame "No it's not that... it's this." She said, looking at the toy store.

"What?" Sam questioned, a little confused. "Are you afraid of dolls or something? Because that wouldn't be a surprise, considering all the freaky stuff we've had to fight over the years."

Chucking a bit, Dani looked back at Sam. "No I'm not afraid of dolls... it's just that we came here for things I need and well..." Dani looked off into the distance as if she could hear a voice long forgotten. "Toys aren't necessary."

Stung by the echo in her voice, Sam looked Dani deep in the eyes.

"You know what, you're right! We are only here for things we need and if you don't get your butt in there right now and pick out something, the only thing you are going to need is a way out of the Fenton thermos after I put your sorry butt in there."

Dani smiled and scurried into the store.

All around her were kids, gizmos and gadgets. It reminded her of grandpa's inventing room, only more brightly colored and smelling less like ham. It was wonderful and for the first time in her existence, she could browse as much as she pleased. Walking around, she saw Jazz at the counter with her gigantic bear and a bag of mixed jelly beans in equal proportion to her new furry friend. After a little searching among the dolls and the bikes, she came to the end stands where she met her calling.

Tall and broad, there it was: the space section. Dani saw space rangers, rockets and more, but the one thing that caught her eye was the Build Your Own T.A.R.D.I.S. all the way up top, locked in plastic. Scanning her surroundings, she made sure that no one is looking before floating ever so slightly up to better see the toy.

Upon seeing the price she nearly falls back to the ground in shock. As her feet touched back to the Earth, she noticed a blur zooming just out of the corner of her eye. Dani instantly transformed into her ghost form and intangibly rushes through aisle after aisle, only to find Sam clutching onto something orange and white.

"Sam?" Dani says still intangible. Startled Sam jumps and placed whatever the item she was clutching behind her back away from all to see.

"Dani?" Sam question hung in the air. "Where are you, and better yet why did you scare me?"

Appearing in front of Sam, Dani popped back into existence. "I saw a blur and wasn't sure if there was some weird toy ghost on the loose. The only thing I did find was you clutching on to something like your life depended on it. What was that anyway Sam?"

Sam looks around nervously. "Hey didn't I just see you floating by the space section, what was that about? How about we go and see."

Clutching Dani's hand Sam pulled her towards the space section with speed and force Dani never thought could come from someone so lean. Back in front of the end stand, Dani saw the one thing she wanted.

"So which one was it?" One by one Sam speedily goes through each and every item on the stand. Seeing Sam nearly out of breath, Dani grabbed Sam and points to the top. "Ah, I see we got another British nerd in the group. I'm sure Tucker will be happy to have someone else to talk to about it, gosh knows I will. Why don't I find a manager to take it down for us?" Sam was about to do just that as when Dani stopped her.

"Did you see the price, I mean you already paid for my clothes, my meal, and we're on our way to get a cell phone. Haven't you already spent enough on me today?"

Sam takes a deep breath, looked around, and pulled the item out what she had concealed behind her back. "You see this?"

Dani looked to see a life-size stuffed Corgi with a little crown atop its head. "This is Queen Loaf and also my biggest secret that not even Danny knows about. I usually order them online and have them shipped to my place in a box labeled 'Death, Gore, and Violence', but I figured since I was here..."

Dani was confused. "Why are you showing me this?"

"Well..." She trailed off. "Now that you know my biggest darkest secret it would be very wise of me to maybe bribe a certain someone not to tell that secret. Just this once." A hint of mirth laced her voice at what she was suggesting.

The smile that spread on the young girls face brought back that warm tickling feeling to her stomach once again. Pushing the feeling away for the moment, she called for the management to retrieve the item. Once checked out, they continued on their way to the cell phone shop.

Upon entering the shop, both Sam and Dani were off-put by the number of cheery girls jumping up and down asking their parents for the biggest and best new phone. Although she was the right age, Dani really didn't get too excited by the idea of a cell phone.

"How great can this little thing be? Especially if something so small and simple costs so much."

Sam smiled with a slight sigh of relief. "I'm glad you realize that now. Most kids don't realize how much trouble these things can cause."

Jazz, being the resident psych know-it-all, started spouting out a number of cell phone addiction-related facts, each more boring than the last.

Sneaking away from the two, Dani escaped Jazz's barrage of useless facts and started looking for a phone to call her own. Dani smiled as she came across a Blackberry phone with a full keypad. "Sam!" Dani yelled from across the store. Sam rushed over, eager to escape 'Professor Jazz's lecture. Arriving at the small display, Sam was surprised to see Dani pick one of the more pricey phones, not that she couldn't afford it, but from the way she was bashing the store she thought she was going to go for a flip phone.

"Why this one Dani?" Sam asked.

"Well..." Her sentence trailed off, unsure of how to explain. "We've all been in dangerous situations and when you have a giant evil ghost hunting you, you can't always talk. That's why I choose this one."

"Wow," Jazz voices her surprise, "looks like you got some brains with all that beauty." The group walked up to the counter to activate and pay for the new device.

All went well and as the group left Sam heard a slight voice say "I, Technis, have downloaded myself into the most advanced of your cellular devices! Now no one can stop me as I-" Locating the source of the noise, Sam reached out for a certain green glowing brick phone and casually sucked it into the Fenton Thermos.

Jazz smiled and looks back at the group. "Let's go home."

On the way home, the cool nighttime air was a welcome feeling against their skin after being under the warm lights of the mall all day. Sam looked over to see Danielle. The young girl was hugging BearBert XL and her new Doctor Who Lego set, sound asleep. A small sigh of content escaped her lips, as she looked so peaceful for once; her face didn't have its usual guarded facade that she had gained over the years spent alone on the streets.

They were home within minutes, with Danny and Tucker there to greet them.

"How'd it go?" Tucker quietly whispered to Sam. His eyes lit up as he took notice of the item in Danielle's hand.

"Good, but I think everything wore her out."

Danny smiled, then went to open Jazz's car door, and effortlessly picked up Danielle.

"I got her. I'll see you two tomorrow?" They nodded in agreement. Shifting Dani's weight a bit in his arms, he gave Sam a sweet kiss goodnight. "Love you."

"Love you too. Make sure you and Jazz get her things settled. We almost cleaned out the entirety of Hot Topic." He was about to bring up the subject of money, really about to protest, before she brought her fingers to his lips.

"No."

Sighing in defeat, he muttered a "Fine," and watched his girlfriend and his best friend start to make their way back to their own homes. Turning into his ghost form, he flew up to Danielle's room and softly laid her on the bed.

The content smile on her face was such a weight-relieving sight that he could almost feel the relaxing of his bones. He brought the comforter up to her chin, tucking her in. Giving the sleeping girl a quick kiss on her forehead, he went to take his leave when he noticed something.

She looked healthy from all her food intake for the day. All he could think in that moment was:

Maybe we're doing something right.

* * *

 **Fun Fact: I'm actually from Wisconsin! I remember the first time I watched the episode where the green bay packers were talked about and it totally went over my head cause I was young. Second fun fact, I'm gluten-free! So my husband just had to steal my laptop, knowing Sam's vegan, and puts in that little part of the muffins. Anyway, thanks for reading, please review and let me know what you think! Lots of love! Until next time!**

 **Edited** 1-22-18: **Thank you to my beta reader** silente **faery, for fixing the chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6! Hey guys! I love this chapter because I feel like Danielle is on her way to getting a normal life, or as normal life that she can be, considering who her family is.**

* * *

"Danielle, wake up, we're having a meeting downstairs, it's important, get dressed." Blinking a few times to get rid of her blurred vision, she turned to her left to see Danny standing in the doorway. Leaving the warm confines of her mattress, she walked over to the dresser where her clothes were stored the previous night.

Grabbing a purple crop top and black leggings – she had to admit that while she didn't like the pink jumper from Forever 21, leggings were quite comfortable when you feel lazy- she threw them on, put her hair up, brushed her teeth, and then ran downstairs.

As she reached the bottom step, she saw everyone in the living room: her grandparents, Danny, Sam, Jazz, and Tucker. Her eyebrows knit together in confusion as to why they had to have an emergency family meeting at eight in the morning on a Sunday.

It couldn't be too bad, right? If it was anything serious or ghost related Valerie would be here too.

"What's going on? Is everything okay?" She asked, her voice laced with worry.

Maddie inched closer, hands clasped together. "Everything is alright sweetie. We just have something important to discuss." Still hazy with sleep, she tried to force her mind into focusing on the task at hand.

"Okay, what is it?"

"You've been here for three weeks now, and there's something we realized that we never got done, you being legalized and getting you into the school system." School. Wow. She never in her wildest dreams expected to go to school. It was a normal everyday activity. Maybe it could be possible?

"Oh, yeah. Well, when I was on the street, I saw thousands of teens get fake ID's from well-made contributors."

Once she said that, Maddie's expression quickly changed from happily indifferent to that of anger. Realizing what she said, Danielle shut her mouth, and tried to redirect their attention elsewhere, muttering a 'nevermind.'

"While that actually sounds kind of fun," Sam broke in, trying to relieve the tension in the room. "How about we do it in a way that won't come back to bite us in the butt?"

Danny paused for a moment before saying, "You know, there's option B."

Danielle could only look on in confusion. Option B?

Suddenly, Jack started to bounce up and down, a child-like expression gracing his face. "Option B, I love option B! I've always wanted to meet him." Him? What's going on?

"Oh, yeah I forgot we had option B." Tucker cut in.

Jazz rolled her eyes. "Are you sure he'd allow this? It's kinda illegal."

"What's the hell is option B!?" Dani finally exploded.

Sam looked over to Dani at her outburst, crossing her arms over her chest. "First of all, language! Secondly, after saving the world and Tucker became mayor, he received the latest and highest grade PDA. According to him, at least." Danielle softly laughed at the sarcasm hinted in the goth's voice. "On it, he was sent a small note that stated we had one favor from the president, for whatever we wanted, as long it wouldn't endanger the U.S."

Dani's mouth almost hit the floor. A pardon, from the president!? Of the United States? Maybe she needed to go back to bed to actually wake up.

However, just as she got the thought out, grandpa ran over, picked her up by the waist, threw her over his shoulder, spun around, and headed for the door. "What are we waiting for? I get to meet the president and maybe get some new lab equipment."

"Why do you always insist on picking me up?" Danielle asked as she was being carried away.

"Because I missed out on the first fourteen years of your life. I use to do this to your dad all the time when he was a kid."

Danny shook his head, whether it was in agreement or to shake away the memory, she'd never know.

You do realize I've only been alive for two years, right?"

"So?"

With a sigh of defeat, she dropped the subject.

As he rushed out the door, everyone looked at each other in disbelief.

Sighing, Maddie grabbed the keys and made her way towards the RV. "Come on everybody!"

Tucker reached the door before Maddie however, but before his hand was able to touch the doorknob, the door slams open, knocking Tucker onto his butt.

"Almost forgot my soda-dispensing hat!" Jack said, bursting in. While retrieving said item, Tucker rubbed his nose, trying to relieve himself of the pain.

This is gonna be a long trip.

While everyone snuggly filed into the Fenton Rv, they started to make their trek to Washington DC. Enjoying one of his favorite pastimes, sitting down doing nothing but spending quality time with his family, and the open road ahead of them, there was nothing better thing that Jack could be doing at the moment. Only then did he remember one important thing. He forgot soda for his hat. "Oh fudge, looks like we have to make a pit stop. I left my drinks at home!"

Stopping at a 7 Eleven, Danny went out to investigate the store and the others followed. He ended up grabbing an item from almost every aisle. Once bagged, they waited for Maddie to get the drinks, Tucker to get the hot dogs that were finishing roasting on the rotisserie, and Jack to get out of the bathroom.

When Sam spotted the two heavy bags in Danny's hands, one eyebrow shot up in amusement. "I thought I was the rich one."

Giving a careless shrug of his shoulders, his only reply was, "I've saved the cashier a few times and he insisted I take one of everything, free of charge." Placing her hands on her hips, Danny felt the anger radiating off Sam.

"Do you really think it's smart to show Dani that it's okay to take hand outs?"

However, the dispute went unnoticed as Danielle gazed upon the candy-filled bag. She's never had sweets before, Vlad hadn't allowed it and being on the streets consisted of basically garbage leftovers. Before she was even able to comprehend what she was doing, she grabs a chocolate bar from the bag and begins to dig in.

She had tasted so many things over the past few weeks since she had been with her new family, but nothing quite like this could compare. The sweet, savory flavor just melted in her mouth, making her taste buds sing. She couldn't help but give a slight moan of delight. So this is what I've been missing.

Seeing Danielle happily devour the chocolate, Sam just shook her head, letting the teen enjoy her special treat. Ending her argument with Danny, she said, "Fine, I'll let this one go, it's probably her first taste of candy. Next time, however, we can't do that. Parents or not, she still looks up to us. "

Setting the groceries by his feet, he walked over to Sam, wrapping an arm around her and giving her forehead a quick kiss."You're probably right. I'll be more responsible next time."

In response to the movement of his arms, she placed hers around his neck. Smirking she said, "Probably nothing, I am right."

"Let's go. Your dad should be ready to leave any minute."

Everyone headed towards the RV with a little pep in their step.

Shoving a corn dog in his mouth, Tucker eyed Daniele, speaking with his mouth full. "You know, some might say the best part of a road trip is the snacks otherwise you're just looking out a window at boring grass all day."

"How can you say that?" Sam retorts. "There is nothing more beautiful than the majesty of nature."

Once again Dani's mind was elsewhere. This was new to her, new and exciting. In her two years of life, all she had known was Amity Park and the lab Vlad kept her in. Traveling on her own the past couple of years was more of a survival challenge for her than an enjoyable trip.

But this was exciting.

This was new.

And a word that she never knew she'd be able to use in her vocabulary:

This was freedom.

* * *

Even though she knew she finally had a safe place to lay her head, something about escaping the Midwest appealed to her, even though it would only be for a couple days at most. The open road, good friends, and the sweet taste of chocolate. The best part of being a two-year-old teenager is that her teeth were not only fully adult but she had fourteen years worth of strong, non-cavity filled goodness.

After a little while on the road, Maddie and Jack were busy focusing on the journey ahead. Meanwhile, the teens in the back all brought out their mp3 players, all but Danielle who had yet to own such a device... not that she cared, for as of now the radio was good enough.

"YMCA!" Jack shouts as he blasted the radio to defining extremes. The RV began to sway from side to side as Jack danced in place to the classic song. Dani would be a little frightened by all the movement if she didn't notice Maddie leaning over to grab the steering wheel every time Jack had the impulse to spell out the words.

It had been nearly half a day spent on the road and everyone was starting to show it. Tucker was beginning to fidget, seeing as his Wi-Fi had been cutting in and out for the last half an hour. Danny had gone through two full cans of Pringles, and Sam had been lulled into a deep gothic dream. At this time the sun was getting low and the majestic view of the outside world slowly faded to black. Dani was bored.

Curious to see what kind of music the others were listening to, Dani floated her way around the RV. Bumping into Jazz first, Dani asked if she could borrow one of her earbuds. She could only listen for about a moment as Jazz's taste was just a little too... sparkly. Making her way to the booth where Danny and Sam were seated, she prodded Danny with her forehead until he handed her his headset. Now his music was pretty cool, kinda punk and guitar with a lot of swearing. "And he tells me to watch my language," She whispered under her breath.

Phasing through the table, she sat next to Sam who she just now realized had been asleep for some time. Dani lifted one of the heavy black headphones off the sleepy goths ear. "Sam?" Dani whispers ever so delicately. "Is it alright if I listen to your music?" Sam's right eye opened a fraction as she rolled her weight on her other shoulder. "That's right Danny, first we let the growth consume all we know, only then will you take your true place as my wicked king of vegetation."

Dani heard Sam murmur in her sleep filled haze and couldn't help but giggle. "What is it?" Danny asked, confused. Dani smiled in response.

"Nothing, veggie boy."

Putting on Sam's headset, Dani was immediately consumed by the sound of an angry drum beat pounding into her soul. Her heart was beating as fast as the music she instinctively started thrashing her head back and forth.

Danny felt the RV rocking again and assumed it's just Jack dancing to another one of his oldies songs only to be shocked as he looks up to see Danielle's full ghost form hair transformed into a white flame dancing back and forth with her aggressive head banging. "Danielle!" Danny shouts. "You're going to set the whole RV on fire!" Ripping off the headset Danny woke up Sam as fast as he could.

"What!" Sam yelled in confusion as she almost jumped from her seat, filled with adrenaline and ready to fight whatever ghost had come their way. She soon settled once she realizes there was no immediate danger. Smelling the embers in the air, she looked to her side to see Danielle with her head down in slight shame.

"Your daughter almost turned the RV into the most heavy metal production of Burning Man, well, ever." Sam ignored the word daughter in that sentence and turned her attention to the scorch marks on her headset, before giving Dani a little pat on the head. Putting her arm around Danielle, they both faced Danny and stuck out their tongues making the Rock N' Roll Sign with their opposite hands. "You two are hopeless," Danny said trying to shake off the smile they forced on him.

Danny took notice of something, something small, but different. The way Sam and Danielle put their arms around each other comfortably; how Sam didn't reprimand him when saying the word daughter. They all were adjusting to this the best they could, they still weren't comfortable being called mom and dad in serious a manner, but he knew Sam was having the hardest time. However, seeing this interaction, it gave him hope.

...at least a little.

* * *

Outside of the RV, the night sky lit up in a sudden burst of electricity as the rain poured from the heavens. Dani smiled as she watched the rain streak down her window. The rain was constant, and the beat of the drops hitting the window soothed the troubled halfa as it always had. Country Roads started playing on the radio and the peaceful lyrics synced with the rain so perfectly that Dani couldn't help but shed a tear. She was not sure why but she just felt warm... warmth she had never felt before and she hoped would never leave her again.

Everyone's relaxation comes to an abrupt halt as the entire RV shifts to the right off into a beat up exit, the looks of which has not been used in years.

"What the heck Dad?" Danny yelled.

Water filling Jack's eyes, he responds, "Rest Stop!"

Pulling up to a beat-up looking building Jack ran out of the RV with lightning speed. Everyone else not regretting they weren't getting the monster size coffee that Jack had, began to stretch their legs in the shelter of the building. Sam and Danny walked toward the old vending machines, hoping that a different state might offer different treats. Meanwhile, Maddie and Danielle noticed something a bit odd near the side of the building.

Sitting still, with much grace and pride, was the biggest Husky either of them had ever seen. A little wary of such a large beast, Maddie put her hand on Dani's shoulder as they inched closer. About ten feet away from the beast, they noticed a large hooded figure standing directly behind the dog. "Hello?" Dani asks. "Is she friendly?" Feeling a chill in the air, Maddie and Danielle stopped in their tracks.

A deep voice broke the silence. "Absolutely." The voice carried for some distance but had a friendly feel to it not unlike the deep chuckle of non-drunk mall Santa.

As Dani reaches her hand out to offer to the large dog, Maddie did her best to figure out the mystery of this beautiful giant. "You know I have never seen a husky this big before, that did you have to breed the mother with to get her both this size and still keep the pure breed look?"

The dark shape of the hooded stranger bounced up and down as a deep laugh emits from under the dark hood. "Husky? You make me laugh, my friend. No, what you have here is a pure blooded wolf. Raised her since she was just a pup." Frightened by the discovery Maddie takes a step back only to see Danielle not only petting the creature but to see the wolf gently licking her hand, loyal and as friendly as a tiny hunting dog.

Hopping back into the RV, Maddie told everyone that she had very cool and strange story to recount. As Jack started diving away Maddie tells the short story to everyone else as Danielle looked back at the rest stop, only to see two glowing green orbs out of the corner of her eye where the wolf was sitting. Blinking rapidly at the sight, the orbs vanished as if they were never there. "I gotta stop eating sugar after sundown," Danielle said to herself as she bit down on a strand of Cherry Licorice.

* * *

"About another hour!" Jack yelled. Looking at the dash, Jack noticed something new to his arsenal of buttons, knobs, and switches: A little switch with the letters P.S.T.D. "P.T.S.D.?" Jack said to himself, confused. "I know me and this baby have been through a lot but I never thought..."

"Jack..." Maddie interrupted. "It says P.S.T.D., not P.T.S.D."

Jack paused slightly, and then reiterated, "Still what the heck is P.S.T.D.?"

Tucker jumped out of his seat with much gusto and waving his mayoral cane said, "P.S.T.D. otherwise known as Portable Satellite Television Device. My team added a couple upgrades, free of charge, courtesy of the Amity Park taxpayers."

"Wait... Taxpayers?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. Danny saved the world after all, and you're telling me that the people he saved can't shell out a couple of extra bucks for the necessities? Or do you have a problem with a little unknowing gratitude?"

"Actually..." Sam responded. "Now that Vlad's out playing rocket man, my parents pay the most taxes in all of Amity Park, so just this once I'm kinda okay with my family finally making up for all those holidays they refused to buy Danny a gift."

Tucker's jaw dropped. "You are cold."

"Down to the bone," Sam said with a wicked smile. Flipping the switch, a ten-inch TV descended from the ceiling in front of all the passengers in the rear of the RV.

"Nothing happened," Jack said in disappointment. "What a rip-off,"

Danielle looked off into the distance and saw a slight light glowing above the horizon. On the TV, a famous sci-fi movie was playing. "Mos Eisley Spaceport, You will never see a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."

"We're here!" Jack yelled.

Sure enough, they had made it to their destination. Arriving at one of the nice hotels the capital had to offer, everyone stretched and walked up to the counter. There, they saw a short man well dressed in a purple bowtie. "Hello, sir's and misses. How may I help y..." He paused. "Oh my goodness it's the ghost boy! How may I help you, sir!? I'm the owner of this fine hotel."

Jack and Maddie walked up to the counter. "Hi, we're looking for three rooms for the night."

Tucker cut in, "Four actually. I can pay for my own."

Jack nodded in agreement. "Oh, yeah, forgot about that."

"Wait are you all together?"

"Yes." Maddie replied.

"Well, I normally don't give this many discounts for this large of a group, however, if you're willing to put in a good word to your friends and family, I definitely could. Also, having the hero of the world saying your hotel is good is good business." He ended with a slight chuckle.

"Well, let's see here." He muttered as he starts typing away at his keyboard. "How are we distributing the rooms?" His eyes shot up to Jack and Maddie.

Danny and Sam look at each other, saying, "We'll take a room with a king size bed." Jack looked to Maddie, wide eyed as he heard his son's decision of where he wanted to sleep. Maddie's eyes were lit with a raging fire, her body radiating anger in waves.

"Listen here, young man." She moved her body in between him and the counter, showing who was in control.

She looked right at her son as she spoke, "My sixteen-year-old underage son will be staying in a room with two queen-size beds with his sister Jazz."

Jazz poked her head through the wall of family members to ask the owner, "Do the rooms come in pink?"

Happy to have some of the tension broke the owner happily replied, "Yes" to Jazz.

"Meanwhile," Maddie says in her normal kind tone. "Sam and Danielle here will stay in the same type of room, two queens, and no king." She finishes giving Danny another harsh glare. Sam broke through as well, asking the owner if the rooms come in black. "A little odd but yes we can accommodate." The owner informed her. "For you Mr. and Mrs. Ghost?" He questions, unsure if anyone would actually have that name.

"It's Fenton actually and we would like a simple room with a king size bed." Typing on his computer there is a slight frown on his face. "Well, I have some news that might interest you. As of right now the only king room left was taken by a colorful family and their bucktooth child. However, we do have a California King size bed available for no extra charge in our honeymoon suite." Maddie's eyes lit up. "Jack do you know what this means? We can finally have the honeymoon we always wanted!"

"Even better yet they still probably put those little chocolates on the pillows there!" Jack says as he gives a big hug to his loving wife.

Tucker steps up to the desk wearing his now signature mayoral jacket, top hat, and cane making, him look like a robotic Monopoly Man.

"So wait... if there aren't any king-size rooms left, where am I supposed to stay?" The owner types on his keyboard once more. Looking up at Tucker he says. "It seems the only remaining room with a bed larger than a queen is our Presidential suit." The word Presidential echoing in Tucker's head, he smiled and looked back at the owner. "Never in my whole life have I needed something so much and never known until I have received it. I'll take it!"

With the key-cards handed out, everyone made their way up to their rooms for some well-deserved rest. Having had a long day of sitting, eating junk food, and petting a wolf, Danielle looked forward to stretching out on a comfy bed and drifting off to sleep.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, another question came up, asking why Vlad didn't just use a random person off the street. My thought process is, Vlad knew Danny had a crush, feelings, towards Sam. Heck Jack knew and he can be pretty obvious to a lot of stuff. I feel as though Vlad saw this as leverage. That eventually, in his sadist fruitloop of a mind, he could use this to his advantage against Danny later on. But being floated off to space crushes any of those dreams, for now at least XD. Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favorites! You guys are awesome! 3 Until next time**

 **(P.s this is basically a two-parter, the president will be in the next chapter. There will be an easter egg as to who the president is, even though he isn't named ;) )**

 **It'll be a completely made up president, but he does have a significant part of the series**

 **Edited** 1-22-18: **Thank you for my beta reader for proofreading my work! You're awesome!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello everyone! I'm excited to say that this is where the villain starts to take presences. There's a reason why for three weeks there hasn't hasn't been a single ghost, which shall be revealed. Little FYI from my husband and I this one is a bit longer so get your reading glasses ready and don't forget that tea in your microwave. It's Fenton time. Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Butch does.**

* * *

Dani shifted from side to side as she delayed the inevitable. She awoke after a long night's rest. As she opened her eyes, she was confused to see everything in the room had shifted from the cool black walls she fell asleep to, to a now glowing pink that consumed everything in the room with its powerful hues.

Looking to her right, she saw Jazz sound asleep on the other bed, cuddling the original BearBert as tight as she possibly could. Dani was about to wake her to find out what was going on but she decided to leave her alone when she noticed the little snores Jazz was emitting. 'Let the sleeping BearBurt lie I guess. She definitely snores like grandpa.' Dani thought to herself.

Whatever had happened last night definitely was not the strangest thing that had ever happened to her. Besides, Grandpa was going on non-stop about how every building in the original colonies was probably haunted in one way or another. Waking up in another room wasn't too terrible, she was just glad she didn't have to fight anything in her tired state. After washing her face and brushing her teeth, Dani slipped on her shoes as quietly as possible and walked out the room.

Walking into the hallway, she noticed the door directly across the way open up to the sound of familiar voices giggling with much joy. "Morning Danny. Morning Sam." Dani said with a little wave. "Do you two know what happened last night? I could have sworn I fell asleep in Sam's room."

Danny stood there pale as his ghost form, silent until Sam finally spoke. "You know I'm not sure. I was pretty sound asleep last night but I think I might have heard what sounded like a ghost phasing in and out. Must be the history of the place. Old buildings just attract things like that, ya know."

It made about as much sense as anything else that happened to this family, so Dani just shrugged it off. "So where are Grandma and Grandpa?"

Danny clutched at his pockets, searching for his phone. "Good thinking," Danny said, taking out his phone.

Browsing through his messages, he saw a text from about fifteen minutes ago reading, 'Wfls n dnng rm! Mt Mom n I thr.' "Yup that's dad texting me for sure. Now if only I can decipher what it means."

Dani yanked the phone out of his hands and said, "Waffles in the dining room! Meet Mom and me there."

Danny's jaw dropped. "How the heck can you read that?"

Dani smiled. "How do you think I broke out of Vlad's Lab? Lots of brains, and a little fact that almost all old people text in the same horrible way."

"Well," Sam said, "No need to keep them waiting."

Making their way into the dining room, they noticed Maddie enjoying her modest meal. Meanwhile, they assumed Jack was sitting next to her somewhere behind the mountain of waffles stacked on his plate.

"Morning you three!" Maddie yelled from across the room. "How did you sleep?"

"Like a rock," Dani said.

While they were sitting down, Maddie looked at Sam and Danny, smiling, "See what did I tell you? A good night's sleep in your own bed can do wonders." Squinting slightly at the sight of Danny, Maddie noticed something. "Awe, sweetie, did you have difficulty sleeping last night, you have bags under your eyes."

In a slightly rushed tone, Danny says, "It's nothing I just must have pulled a muscle last night either that or a cramp, you know how it is getting used to a new mattress."

"Ow, I hate when I get those nasty cramps, but hey nothing a couple bananas can't fix."

Upon hearing this Sam gave a slight chuckle. "What's so funny Sam?" Maddie enquired, raising an eyebrow.

A quick pause. "Nothing Mrs. Fenton, just the idea that Danny would eat anything but meat."

"Well I myself am starving for a good rump roast, and I hear there are some places here with meats that can't be beaten!" Jack said, making his presence known from behind the ever-shortening pile of food.

"Good morning Ghost Getters!" Jazz shouted from across the room, entering. Hearing the nickname, everyone not wearing a jumpsuit cringed.

"How'd you sleep, sweetie?" Maddie yelled back.

"Very well, only thing is I can't explain why I found Dani's clothes in my room." Maddie smiled. "Well sweetie, he is a teenage boy they do get hot. Just be happy-"

"Mom!" Danny interrupted.

"No mom I don't mean Danny, I mean Dani!" Jazz said.

Confused Jack stopped chewing his mounds of waffles just to process what his daughter was saying. Starting to figure out what might be going on, Maddie raised her finger.

"Good morning, my future voters!"

They turned their attention to Tucker, who was making his grand entrance. Looking up, Danielle couldn't help but giggle at what Tucker was wearing.

Danny laughed. "You look like the Fourth of July themed Mr. Peanut!"

Sam looked for a long while at their esteemed mayor, raising an eyebrow. Tucker was wearing red and white striped long pants, a dark blue jacket with American flag cufflinks, and as always his top hat and cane.

"I love this place. I even found this giant cake someone just left on a tray in the hallway." Tucker scraped some icing off the cake, leaving not a molecule on his finger. "Hm, real buttercream icing, no one makes that from scratch anymore. This place is the best!"

Jack, after finishing his pile of food, slammed his fist down on the table. "So my fellow ghost catchers, what are we going to be up to before we meet the big man today?"

Danny scratched his head. "Well I don't know about anyone else but I think I'm going to hit the swimming pool. Tucker's right, this place is great and I don't think I have ever seen a pool as big as the one they have here."

"Heck yeah!" Tucker exclaimed as he ripped off his striped pants to reveal swimming trunks mocking the once proud American flag. A passing female onlooker walked by, whistling at Tucker. "My country Tiss of Thee," Tucker blushed. "I love this place."

"Wow," Sam said. "You finally get hit on by a girl and all it takes is for you to be 800 miles away from a home-field advantage. Now if you don't mind, I'm heading to the gift shop to see if they have anything black in the swimsuit section. I'm going to simmer away the rest of my stress in a nice bubbling hot tub."

Everyone seemed to be thrilled with the thought of spending a little time splashing around the hotel's pool... all but Danielle, and Danny could see her shaking ever so slightly the more and more everyone else showed their excitement. "Everything ok Dani?" Danny asked.

Danielle shrugged, "Everyone is so happy with swimming but I never learned how the closest thing I have come to swimming is being an actual puddle."

Danny smiled at her. "Don't worry. I think I might be able to help you with that."

Donning swimsuits, they made their way to the pool. Diving in, everyone went to their own devices, while Danny offered a hand to a slightly shaking Danielle. "Don't worry; I will have a hold on you through this whole thing until you're comfortable without me."

Nodding in agreement, she took his outstretched hand as she descended into the warm soothing water.

They started with floating to help get her balance. Danny had his hands under her back while she floated for a minute. A few minutes passed before she assured him that it was okay to let go. He slowly backed away, but stayed at a safe distance for him to grab her if something were to go south.

She mastered floating rather quickly, and she couldn't help the pride that washes over her or the bright smile that stretched on her lips. Danny mirrored her expression.

"I knew you could do it," He said, ruffling her slightly damp hair, she couldn't help but think if this is what it felt like to have a parent, even if it was just a fleeting thought. It was nice. To have someone's eyes shining with pride because of such a small thing that she had done.

After that, they worked on kicking, which was harder, but they got through it. Soon enough she was doing a couple laps with Danny following at her side to be there to catch her if need be. After the laps, she settled back into an upright position to face Danny. Without thinking she threw her arms around the teen.

"Thanks, Danny. This means so much to me."

* * *

Once everyone dried off, they headed back to their hotel rooms to change back into their normal attire.

A knock on the door resonated throughout the whole room. "Come on you two get ready. We're going sightseeing." Jazz said enthusiastically.

Going along the winding roads of D.C, it was peaceful sightseeing. Out of nowhere, there was a loud clunk, on the top of the RV. A cool blue wisp escaped his mouth, causing him to groan in annoyance. "Just when I thought this was going to be a relaxing couple of days." Changing into Phantom, he flew above the RV to see what ghost had come.

Scanning the area, he saw the last ghosts on the face of the planet that he had wanted to see: two of Vlad's birds. "Hey bird brains, I knew you could fly high, but you master's a little further up!" They quickly turn around to face him, admitting a light growl.

"Stupid ghost child, we serve a new master now. Much smarter than our old one," As the oldest bird said this, he took a dive for Danny, but Danny was prepared for this and dodged the attack.

"Wait." He demanded before they could supply another attack.

Before the first bird was able to reply, Danny asked, "Do you have anything to do with the disappearance of ghosts lately?"

The sly smile that appeared on both of the bird's faces sent a shiver down his spine. "All shall be revealed soon, halfa."

The other one broke in, "Should we really be revealing this to him?"

The first bird went swooping down to attack him once again, but this time, Danny turned intangible, intending on blasting him the moment he was on the other side of him.

However, before he was even able to turn his back to blast bird brains, he heard a high pitch scream of pain. His eyes landed on Danielle as he saw Danielle clutch her arm, green ooze seeping out from her arm. The bird's beak had cut her. He had harmed her.

Danny's eyes flared up with a fiery green rage. All he could see was red. It filled every fiber of his being; taking a tight hold on him. Racing towards the bird with lightning speed, he pushed the bird several yards away, and without another thought, conjured up his ghostly wail; letting it ripple out towards the ghost who had hurt Danielle.

Once finished, the birds were scared, and having seen how much stronger the phantom was and how much pain he could cause them, they sped away, retreating to save their skin.

Returning to Danielle, he gently took her arm to examine the wound. It was healing fast, thanks to ghost healing abilities. "You okay?" He asked.

She gave a silent nod, unable to gather enough courage to use her voice for a minute. "You can't just do that Danielle. If you intend to help me, you have to let me know first. We have to have each other's back, and I can't do that I don't know you're there."

Her eyes bored into his, giving him a silent 'okay.' He put one of her arms around his neck and puts one arm around her waist to support her back, and the other under her legs.

He was about to return to the RV that was several feet ahead of them when Danielle spoke up, "What were you talking about when you said, 'Do you know what happened to the disappearance of the other ghost?' Is something happening in the ghost zone?" Not wanting the fear that seeped into her eyes to fester, he just sighed.

"Right now, I'm not sure, how about we get back with grandpa and grandma, and the rest of them, and Tucker and I will explain everything once we're settled for lunch. Okay?"

"Okay," was her only response, along with tightening her grip around his neck as they took off towards the RV. He could tell she was shaken by the experience, not expecting anything bad to happen on this trip.

Danny knew one thing for sure though. He wasn't going to let this one go. He'd make sure those birds pay.

No one hurts his family.

* * *

Soon enough, they pulled up to the diner and went inside. Danielle's arm was healed, except for an angry red mark scrawled onto her skin. The whole family had been worried once they caught sight of Dani, but assured him that they were both fine and Danielle's arm would be healed within minutes.

Still wary, everyone turned their attention back to what they were doing, save for Sam. Danny could tell she couldn't tear her eyes away from the young girl's arm.

Now as they sat down for their meal, all anyone in the family could feel was the tension in the room from what had happened without an explanation. That and there were a few eyes on them, knowing that they were mere feet from Danny Phantom. A young girl, about the age of seven, came up and asked for an autograph, which he happily gave.

He turned his attention back to his family, once the seven years old shyly fled their table.

"Seriously, what was that about with the whole 'ghost disappearing' thing?" Dani was the first to break the silence. When Danny didn't answer right away, she looked to Tucker, eyebrow raised in expectation.

"Dude, we should just tell them, they're going to find out either way." He lets out a sigh of defeat, and then turned to face everyone. "When I went to the Ghost Zone with Tucker a few days ago, there was an important meeting among the council: Clockwork, the observers, Frostbite, and Pandora to name a few." He pauses to gather his thoughts. "Apparently, ghosts are going missing. We don't know where they've gone, and Clockwork can only do so much, he's been on a little bit of a leash since the whole Dark Dan thing."

"At first, they just thought the ghosts were coming here to do their daily terrorizing, but when weeks came, and none of them returned, worry started to spread. They called Tucker and me to help keep an eye out for the missing ghosts and to warn me to be safe."

"Do you think those birds have anything to do with it, since they were talking about a new master?" Dani questioned Danny.

"Maybe. It's the most plausible answer at the moment."

Maddie spoke up, "Do you think they could be lying? What if it is Vlad?"

"I'm not ruling it out, but the way they talked about him; I don't know. It just sounded pretty convincing that they were done with him."

'Maybe we shouldn't be out in the open,' Danielle thought for a moment.

"Why didn't you tell us until now?" Jazz asked.

"I didn't want to worry you. We've had a lot on our plate the past few weeks." Danny said, before turning down.

It didn't go unnoticed by Danielle that Sam had been eerily quiet. Tapping her foot near the older girl to get her attention, she gave a small smile to the goth. Sam mirrored that with that of her own, but Dani could tell it was forced. She would talk to her alone when possible, but for now, she'd let it go.

* * *

They were soon back in the RV, traveling down the road.

About a block away from the white house, Sam looked at Tucker. "So Mr. Mayor, what is the protocol for entering the white house?"

Tucker snapped to attention."Well um you know I don't actually know."

"You don't know?!" Nearly everyone in the RV shouted at once.

"Well, Danny's dad just grabbed all of us and shoved us in the RV. I didn't even have time to call the guy."

Maddie looked back at Tucker, concerned. "So not only are we bringing an illegal alien into the White House but we are also trespassing on the most secure building in the nation. You know, we were on the road for a day and a half! You could've made the call then."

All he could do in response was a nervous shrug of the shoulders. "I didn't have the best signal."

Was this guy serious? Dani's mind raced at the idea that they might not be able to get into the White House, the only hope she had at some normalcy.

"Tucker, if you don't get Danielle into the White House, you will personally see what my motherly instincts can do."

The techno geek's eyes widened in fear. "What motherly instincts?" The evident sarcasm in his voice made her glare at him in anger.

"You don't want to find out." That shut him up.

They arrived at the White House and all could Danielle do was gulp in fear. This place was so big! One person and his family lived here? How many rooms did this place even hold? Not sure what to do, she looked to the grownups for a probable solution.

"Maybe Danny should go first, in his ghost form. If they see Phantom right away, they might figure it's important business?" Maddie knew the statement came off as more of a question, but that's all she had at the moment. She really needed to talk to Jack about making rash decisions like this without thinking of the consequences.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" They all jump as a new, deeper, rusty voice joins the conversation. Turning to Jack's window, they saw a man with golden, sun-kissed skin, square jaw, a buzz cut and sunglasses to cover his eyes.

"You're the Fentons, correct?" They all nodded in agreement, even Sam and Tucker, who were too afraid at the moment to do anything but agree. "We've been expecting you. Follow me; the other guards will follow behind to make sure you're assorted safely." Confused, Danielle complied with the security guard and followed close behind, but not before standing between Sam and Danny, grabbing onto their hands for dear life. She was thankful when they didn't pull their hands away but squeezed back in reassurance.

The question that was swarming through her head was, 'How? How did they even know?' A part of her didn't want to know.

Entering the oval office, they saw the big man sitting behind the desk all the way in the back of the room. "Good afternoon Fentons, We've been keeping an eye on you."

Sam being Sam, shivered at the possibilities of what that sentence could mean. "Ignoring the vague creepiness of the sentence we are all happy to meet you, Mr. President."

"So I take it you're all here to use the option B we gave to you?"

Danny stepped forward to answer. "Yes Mr. President. We need something very specific and I thi..."

In one fluid movement, the president was in front of Danny."Shh!" The President says while grabbing Danny and covering his mouth. "We can't speak of these things in such an open area."

Sam gives a little "Hmph," "This is the oval office, and you're telling me that not even your own office is secure?"

"Well Ms. Manson, I'm sure you are aware of the Guys in White correct? Well, their department has been disbanded ever since they tried to use government money and resources to buy your family's lab to bomb the ghost zone, not only destroying a reality with hundreds of assets but our own as well. Thank goodness you are all not incompetent like them. Now if you really want to help me you can look to see if the Guy in White left me any goodbye presents that might be listening in on our conversation."

With a little nod shared between the two, Danny and Danielle shifted into their ghost form and began to make their way around and through the room.

As they searched, Tucker walked up to the president, who greeted him with a handshake, saying, "Hello Mr. Mayor, How have things been in Amity Park since Vlad Masters has disappeared? I take it you're keeping yourself busy."

"Yeah but not too busy to notice a little higher than normal ecto activity around the capital." The president could see the suspicion plastered on the young mayor's face. "Well, my fine mayoral citizen, I can personally guarantee you there is no such thing as a U.S.G.A."

"The United States Ghost Arsenal? They're just rumors right?" Though Tucker didn't seem convinced, The President ignored the question and continued on. "Anyway, as I was saying, even with all this advanced technology, we're still having trouble locating any bugs."

"State of the art, ha!" Tucker scoffed, "If that's state of the art, then my first PDA must still be brand new." He narrows his eyes in a challenge.

"Oh really?" The president's raised his eyebrow, accepting said challenge. "Well, the new monitors that I had installed just last month could out beat anything that was placed in your puny office."

"Please, with all the money Vlad hid I was able to get HD monitors the size of your windows!" Tucker retorted.

"Yeah well, earlier you mentioned a PDA, but let me show you the future Mr. Mayor." Reaching into his pocket the president took out a brand new Pearphone smartphone. "This little baby is a smartphone with a state-of-the-art touch screen. It can do everything your little PDA can do with three times the memory and trice the battery." Knowing the brand name, Tucker wasn't fazed at all. "Yeah, your little phone has a touch screen, no big deal. It might be new but it also shatters super easily."

"Impossible," The President says, throwing his Pearphone to the ground, shattering it instantly. "Carley!" The President yelled off into the distance. "Order daddy a new Pearphone, please." A sigh and a muttered, "Yeah dad." was heard from an unknown location.

This continued on for a good forty minutes, in which the two halfa's searched the entire suit, but couldn't find a single bug. Returning back to the group in their human forms, they were about to inform everyone of what they found, or lack thereof, when the president shouted, "Yeah, well do you have this?"

He strode over to the presidential oval office rug and pulled it away to reveal a door, and once opened, it revealed a secret bunker of some sorts. "This was designed with the best technology, and only I, my family, and the few guys I hired to build it know about it. The secret service doesn't even know it's here."

"Wait," Sam interrupted, "You're saying, that this whole time that we were here, we couldn't speak about our situation because you wanted to make sure it's secure, but you had a secret place that is absolutely secure, and you didn't think to bring us down there?"

The president was dumbfounded. Why hadn't I thought of that? Motioning for them to follow, they all filed into the bunker.

"Okay, so first things first, what's the favor?" He said, turning to the group assembled in front of him.

Fear took hold of Danielle; her whole life was dependent on this very moment. Instinctively, she hid behind Danny, thankful that he was just the height to be hidden behind.

Sam looked at Danielle, hiding behind Danny. She took a step forward and took Danielle's hand, gently walking her out into to the President's line of vision. She took a deep breath. "Whether we're ready to hear it every day or not, this strong young woman is Danny and mine's daughter." She looked Danielle in her blue eyes, so reminiscent of the ghost boy's eyes she had loved for so long. "I know that it seemed strange, but I know what it's like, having a family that treats you differently for just being who you are, so here and now I promise that whatever you need, here in front of President and Mayor, I will be there for you."

"Sam?" Danny said confused. "I didn't... I mean that..." Danny took Danielle's other hand.

The president looked at them like they were just as nutty as what the Guys in White said. "Is this... true?" The president asked.

"Yes," Danny responded. "Danielle here was an experiment of Vlad Masters, he created her from both Mine and Sam's DNA and she's been alive for two years but she is technically fourteen. We have come here to give her a chance at a normal life, something that her former creator never gave a thought to. Both Sam and I are here to make sure that she gets her chance just like everyone else."

Danny and Sam felt a giant hand placed on both of their shoulders. Jack said in a comforting tone, "You know... if you two aren't ready for this, your mother and I will always be there for you. That goes for you too Sam, as far as we're concerned you have been a part of this family for quite some time now and both Maddie and I are willing to take legal guardianship if you two just can't. If you are, however ready, we will support you all the same. We Fentons are in this together no matter what runs through our veins; blood, ectoplasm, it doesn't matter. We support you one hundred percent no matter what you choose."

"Thanks, dad." Danny blinked away the tears that were forming. "So wait, Danielle would be allowed to be raised by two underage teenagers if they wanted to... who are just two years older than her. Does anyone else find this just a bit too weird?" Tucker questioned.

The president gave him a slight smile. "Young man, you came here as the sixteen-year-old mayor of a town more haunted than the rest of the country. Not to mention we are making an illegal immigrant legal illegally. I think we can look past the MTV special that is her parent's ages and just get down to business. Now before I get the paperwork, I have to make sure. You, Danny James Fenton, wish to use your one and only Presidential favor to put this child through public school?"

"And make her legally a citizen of the USA," Jazz chimed in.

"You Midwesterners are so nice, boring, but nice." The President said, almost sighing.

After being handed several documents, the family started filling everything out. They finally got to the last paper: the birth certificate. Sam and Danny took each other's hand, and lifting their pens to the paper, sign their names on the corresponding lines.

Below the three of them, lying on the table was a paper that read:

Danielle Jane Fenton

Birth date: May twenty-third, nineteen ninety one

Father: Daniel James Fenton

Mother: Samantha Elizabeth Manson.

* * *

 **A/N: Bam! Danny and Sam decided they want to be her legal parents, and officially are. That's not to say they are quite ready for titles, but they're definitely getting comfortable with Danielle, and are learning that maybe they can do this with their family supporting them. Don't worry, there will be a day where they are called mom and dad. Just gotta be patient. Next will be a chapter focused on Sam's parents and how they react to all of this. Hehe, that's gonna be fun. ;)**

 **So the question is, who is this new villain? Where are the missing ghosts? Are Danny and Danielle in danger seeing as they're half ghost? Could it be Vlad or an entirely different ghost? Also, what is this secret U.S.G.H? We shall see.**

 **Finally, did you catch the easter egg about the president? It's small, but let me know if you do :)**

 **Edited: 1-23-18 Shoutout to my awesome beta reader! As always, thank you!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8! I'm a sucker for Danielle and Sam moments, cause the progress between the two just makes me smile. This will probably be the last big moment's chapter between the two for a while, but that doesn't mean that there won't be a moment at all, they're just starting to get to that point in their relationship where the littlest things mean the most. Anyway, on with the story. Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom**.

* * *

It was Friday night. A week had passed since she had been officially adopted. Jazz had gone back to school and wouldn't be visiting until winter break, which kinda sucked in Danielle's opinion, but even with that dim kind of news, she still had an upbeat attitude with everything that had recently happened.

Danny and Dani were just about to head out to meet Tucker at Sam's to watch horror movies all night. After they both transformed, Danielle yelled out, "Bye grandma, we're heading to Sam's."

Maddie's head poked out into the hallway from the kitchen. "Okay sweetie, be careful on your fly over there." With that, they took off towards Sam.

There was something different about Danielle, Danny had observed. He couldn't keep up with her; she was beating him at his top speed of two hundred. When he finally had her in his sights, she was carelessly doing somersaults in the air. For this whole week, she just seemed like she had pep in her step; even when Tucker told her it'd take a couple weeks to get through the whole process of getting her into school. The content, unconditional happiness on her face was everything to him.

They arrived at Sam's in mere minutes. Back in their human forms, Danny lightly knocked on the door.

Sam's grandmother, Ida, opened the door and smiled at the sight of Danielle and Danny. "Sam's in the basement." Bringing her voice to a light whisper, "The riffraff are upstairs counting their money." After Danny rolled his eyes upon hearing about Sam's parent's antics, they entered the home.

"Also," Ida quickly said before the two teens could run to the basement to join their friends, "I made up an excuse for Sam, saying she was at a beauty pageant, and so her parents called her in for school and they didn't have a clue as to where she was." With a sly wink of her eye, she motored off to the bowling alley.

As they made their way down downstairs, they saw Tucker lounging in a comfortable chair. Sam was setting the popcorn machine up, phone settled between her chin and ear, ordering a pizza from what Danielle could hear.

"Yeah, that'll be two large cheese pizzas, extra sauce. Yeah, we'll take the extra dipping sauce." With that, she turned to face Danielle and Danny. "Okay, so what two want?"

Without hesitation, Tucker said, "Ultimate meat-lovers, please."

Sam first had a grim expression from the mention of meat, but then it was suddenly taken over by a playful expression, and she ordered a veggie pizza. In horror, Tucker ran over to Sam and snatched the phone from her hands to order the correct pizza.

Danielle just giggled at the two's interaction as she plopped down next to Danny, putting her back against his arm laying her legs in front of her, taking up the rest of the sofa. Sam took the other side by Danny.

"Okay, which movies are we thinking?" Tucker said, holding up Nightmare on Elm Street, and the Conjuring.

"Conjuring." Danny, Danielle, and Sam all replied in unison.

He promptly plopped the disk in then returned to his seat. They all settled in as the preview appeared on the screen.

Minutes later they heard the doorbell ring, and Danielle leapt up from her seat, saying "I'll get it!" She grabbed the twenty Sam offers. Running up the steps, she raced to meet the pizza guy at the door. After exchanging the pizza with the money and telling him to keep the change, Danielle closed the door and turned around to head back down, only to be meant with who she assumed, by the high-end designer clothing they wore, that they were Sam's parents.

"Who are you exactly?" The red headed haired woman asked.

Was Palma her name? Danielle wasn't sure. Sam didn't talk about her parents often. She had her arms crossed over her chest, and her green eyes narrowed in a glare at her. Her husband just stood silently beside her. "Oh, I'm a friend of Sam's. I'm related to Danny." I'm also your granddaughter, but you know, details. "I just moved here recently. It's nice to meet you."

She held out her hand, waiting for a handshake. However, Mrs. Manson just looked at it as if her hand was an infected disease. Slowly, she retracted her hand and gave the back of her neck in a slight rub of embarrassment. The air was so thick with tension that she didn't even know what to think. "Okay, well, um... We're having a movie marathon downstairs, so have a good evening Mr. and Mrs. Manson." She fled as fast as possible without flying.

Making it to the bottom of the steps, Danielle instantly jumped into Danny's arms.

"What's going on here?" He asks, surprised at the young girl's actions. "Let's just say I met my other grandparents."

Sam shrugged. "So what did the Queen bee have to say to you?"

Dani started to feel the anxiety start to melt away as Danny wrapped his arms around her in comfort."Nothing really," Dani replied. "But it was the way she said nothing that got to me if that makes any sense."

Hours pass by; the current movie showing was A Nightmare on Elm Street. Seeing as the pizza was mostly gone, Sam came up with the bright idea to make some homemade popcorn. Looking at the popcorn maker, it soon became clear that whoever used it last, Tucker, did not bring another bag of butter flavoring down. "Pause the movie everyone... I have to go upstairs to get more butter flavoring, through no one's fault, Tucker."

"Come on Sam why does it always have to be me?" Tucker whined. "Besides aren't you vegan aka no butter products."

Correcting the techno-geek, she replied, "Ehem, Butter flavoring. This stuff is chemically closer to plastic than it will ever be to real butter."

Climbing the stairs, Sam made her way into the kitchen. Just as she got to the entryway, she found her parents sitting at the table, eating dinner. Her mother brightened up as she saw her daughter come in. "Sammy, there you are! I've wanted to talk to you since you returned from the imprudent beauty pageant that you went to. Why didn't you tell us? We're so proud of you!" All Sam could do was giving a careless shrug before walking over to the cabinet to retrieve the condiments.

"Well," her mother continued, trying to fish out details from her daughter. "Did you like it?

A slight pause. "No."

Pamela's eyes widened a bit in shock, all hopes at having a normal daughter dashed in second. "Why did you even go in the first place then?" Sam could hear the anger in Pamela's voice starting to surface. She turned to face her.

"Because," she spat the word out of her mouth. "I thought it was a good idea to show those girls that they didn't need to strictly follow in their parent's footsteps. That they don't need all glitz and glam, and makeup to make them look pretty. If it's something they truly enjoy, then okay, cool, do what makes you happy." She paused... if she had to lie, why not make a decent one. "But, if that isn't what they want, then they should speak, do what makes them happy. Be whoever they want to be." Breathless from her rant, she just stared at her parents waiting for a response.

"Listen, Sammykins, I know that you want to be different and over the years your father and I have done our best to well... tolerate your little experiments, but these friends of yours have only gotten you into trouble over the years. They're not normal, those Fentons, they are ghost hunting trash that in my opinion should have been thrown away the moment you brought them into our clean home. Now worst of all, you bring another Fenton into this house, and who is she exactly with that boy's hat and those baggy ripped up jeans, you would think they actually did find this one in the trash."

"Enough!" Sam shouted, efficiently shutting them up. "I have had enough of you two telling me how to live my life! You are the most stuck up people I have ever known. Why do you think I'm different in the first place, huh? It's because for my whole life I grew up seeing you two look down on everyone who didn't walk the right way, stand up straight enough, or even what clothing they wore. I am like this because I wanted to grow up as an individual not living under the shadow of judgment you look through. All you see is status, well here are some stats for you."

"My techno-geek friend who struggled to be acknowledged his whole life is now the mayor of our town. My no-good boyfriend you two so loathed all these years not only saved my life, or yours, but the life of every being on this entire planet! All because he just wanted to do the right thing. He didn't do it for the fame or the money; he did it to be kind! Lastly, that so-called Fenton trash is someone far more special to me than you two could ever comprehend. She is so amazing and has so much potential and I won't let you hurt her the way you hurt me. She is going to know what it feels like to be loved for who she is and never anything she's not. She is my daughter and I could not be any more proud that she will never share the same name as you two!"

* * *

Danielle had looked to her soda cup, gave it a shake, and seeing as nothing was in the cup, decided to head upstairs to refill it. Just as she made it up a few steps, her ghost heightened hearing picked up something.

"...She is so amazing and has so much potential and I won't let you hurt her the way you hurt me. She is going to know what it feels like to be loved for who she is and never anything she's not. She is my daughter and I could not be any more proud that she will never share the same name as you two!" She froze for a second. Were Sam's parents speaking badly about her? Did she hear Sam correctly? She called her her daughter... to her parents. Without a second thought, she raced up the few steps that were left.

* * *

Out of nowhere, Danielle came running up from behind the stairway and walked over to Sam, tears in her eyes, and wrapped her arms so tight around her that she nearly lost her breath. Looking directly at Sam's parents while still hugging her for dear life, she stuck out her tongue and flashed her glowing green eyes at them. They were frozen to their seats, consumed with shock at the new discovery.

The sound of a grandma's motorized scooter got closer as Sam opened her eyes. She saw the old woman shake ever so slightly as she crawled her way up the chair to give the two young women the warmest hug they had ever received. "How old are you sweetie?" Grandma asked Danielle.

"Fourteen," Dani replied ever so meekly. "Well, that's fourteen years you have not had my famous red velvet cake for your birthday and that my dear is just frankly insulting. Now I'm no fool. I know you aren't normal what with you being fourteen and my little granddaughter here being sixteen, but seeing as how I've never liked normal I'm sure you'll fit in just fine..."

Raising her voice she said "And if anyone has a problem with it they can take it up with me and my power of attorney." Grabbing Danielle's hand she sat back on her scooter. "You better come back over here sometime this week so we can make that cake, understand?" Giving her a happy nod of the head, she started to make her trek back down the stairs as Sam ran to the fridge to grab some more soda.

With her left foot mid air over the step leading back down to the movie room, Danielle turns her head around to look back at Sam, "I'll see you downstairs," Her eyes landed on Mr. and Mrs. Manson. "Mom," and then ran down the stairs before she was able to see Sam's reaction. She hadn't meant for it to be in a serious manner. She had just wanted to get back at riffraff, as great grandma Ida called them.

However, no matter how she spun it, the word mother danced on her tongue. It gave her butterflies in her stomach that wouldn't stop tickling her.

Back in the basement, she saw Danny and Tucker fighting over the last piece of Meat-Lovers pizza. "Come on man, it's not fair! You have a girlfriend; you don't need to hog all the good stuff. Besides what will the future Mrs. Fenton feel about making out with your meat breath?"

Sam, rushing down the stairs, took the meat pizza and handed it to Danielle before grabbing Danny by his shirt, pulling him in for the most passionate kiss of their lives. Taking a deep breath Sam looked at Tucker before saying defiantly, "The future Mrs. Fenton doesn't mind…" She gagged a little bit at the thought of meat. "Just this once."

"What the heck was that?" Danny said. "Not that I'm complaining, but I didn't even get that after saving the world."

Sam smiled. "Let's just say I finally got something off my chest."

* * *

It was near two in the morning and everyone was asleep, except for Danielle. Sam and Danny were cuddled on the couch, while Tucker reclined and was snoring lightly. She herself was on the floor, not really paying attention to the movie on the screen. While the movie was scary and gave her the creeps, that was not what swarmed into her head.

No, the words trash, abomination, and freak of nature. That was what was keeping her up. Making sure everyone was sound asleep, she crept over to her messenger bag that she had brought over with the movies, and opened the secret lining in the fabric.

Pulling out a disk, she went over to the DVD player, opened it, removed the scary movie, and placed the disk in. She crawled a few feet back to put a little space between her and the big screen TV.

"Day 220." Vlad's voice engulfed the room, "The girl I have decided to name Danielle is growing stronger by the day. I feel that since I'm finally getting a successful close, I should disclose as to why I used Samantha's DNA." Danielle barely noticed the tears running down her cheeks. "I wanted to get her genetics close to Daniel's, and after seeing her fight alongside him though the help of the videos that I obtained from Valerie's suit, I have come to conclude that with her dark hair, and a few other facial features that match in a nice way, I have found that it would lessen my chances of Danielle being rejected."

"I also, have seen her fighting skills. She has the ability to fight ghosts without even being a half ghost. Most humans do not possess this ability; they should not be able to do this. Her intelligence is also remarkable; all of these qualities made her a perfect candidate for Danielle." Said girl couldn't help but mutter "Crazy fruitloop," under her breath.

"You said it." Jumping around in surprise, she was met by Sam's gaze. A sad smile sprawled on her face. "You really shouldn't be watching this Danielle." She took the remote, pausing the video. "It'll give you nightmares." They both silently agreed on the idea that scary movies were nothing compared to Vlad's videos.

"Let's get some air for a minute."

* * *

The night air is so calming for Dani. She'll never understand why, or rather how it the nighttime sky just soothed her. Frost was starting to cover the ground, but she didn't mind as she took a seat on the ground. Sam copied her.

"Thank you, you know, for sticking up for me with your parents. I am sorry about calling you mom though. I just wanted to get under their skin." Sam just laughed. "It's fine. I knew what you were doing. I think you should know something though." Icy blue eyes meet deep violet.

"I know I said at the beginning of this I said I wasn't ready to be called mom... and that still stands," She paused a bit. "But, for the past month, if I've learned anything from you showing up, it's that you are the only person, besides Danny, that I care about as much as I do; it was almost like a gut instinct took over when you got attacked by that ghost." She swallowed a lump that had formed. "I was so worried. I realized, in that moment, with every bone in my body that I'll protect you. No matter what it takes.

"Well, I guess what I'm trying to say is, that I guess I kinda love you kid." After the end of her words, she threw in an affectionate ruffle of Dani's hair. "Don't let it get to your head though. Danny does all the time." They both double over in laughter.

"One more thing." She said, bring back the serious tone of the conversation, "You are not trash. You are nothing my parents call you, what Vlad used to call you. At the end of the day you are a human being with feelings. I meant every word that I had said to the president. You are growing into be a wonderful, amazing woman. When I'm ready, I know I'll be proud to call you my daughter."

Wiping away the tears, and not being able to help herself, Danielle pulled the goth into a tight hug, just staying there for a few minutes, finally processing that was what unconditional love from a parent felt like. "Thanks, Sam. I love you too."

"If you ever tell anyone about this," She muttered into the hug, "I'll ground you until your siblings are old enough to be married."

* * *

 **A/** N: **Thank you BrownTyto for your idea of why Vlad used Sam as Dani's** mom, **and using the video log of Vlad's explanation of it. It seriously helped, you're so awesome!**

 **Yes, this was a softer side of Sam, but I think around Dani, it just kinda comes out of her. She knows to some extent what Danielle feels, and she doesn't want her to feel like that, ever. So that's why she shows more of her sensitive side. So yeah. Please read and review! Until next time! 3**

 **Edited; 1-23-18, As always, thanks to my beta reader** silente **faery!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Before I forget The-Fallen-Spirit, you are definitely not off in chapter 7, ;)**

 **Anyway, I do not own Danny Phantom, the rights go to Butch.**

* * *

Hidden from the obvious mother-daughter duo, a hooded figure stood just out of sight of the two. "Perfect," He hissed, his voice dripping with venom. "If I can't get the older boy, his daughter will make a fine addition." The evil laughter that bubbled from his throat could outrival that of Vlad's.

"Go, my pet. Stay in the shadows. They mustn't know of you yet." He pointed across the way towards the two.

Only if those two girls knew what was to come.

* * *

Dani woke up suddenly in a cold sweat. She scanned the room, looking for any immediate danger, but the room was empty. "Must have been a dream?" She said to herself, not quite sure of her own words. But whatever she had dreamt slipped through her fingers the moment she entered the conscious world. "Aunty Jazz is right... I really have got to stop eating sweets before bed." Wondering what time it was, she looked over at her alarm clock. The numbers 10:38 glowed red. She grew frustrated, realizing that Danny and her friends were at school while she had to find a way to pass the time in an almost empty house.

The house was brightly lit but when Danielle looked outside, all she could see were dark skies pouring out what seemed like endless amounts of rain. It would be the perfect day for a good book if Dani had found out what literature she liked, that is. Sadly, today seemed destined to be a gloomy day at home for her while trying to avoid the clock more than a fast food worker. Looking out the widow, Dani saw something out of the corner of her eye: Something tall and very fast.

Whatever it was it didn't want to be where she could see it. She stood still for a moment when a giant clap of thunder broke the silence. Jumping back with a slight scream, Danielle transformed into her ghost form and phased through the front door. Looking around, all she can see was the dimly lit outside. Transforming back into human form, her foot landed on something kind of soft... It was a little box labeled 'GHC'. Picking up the little box, she headed back inside, making sure to actually use the door this time.

"Hello?" Maddie yelled from another room. "Danielle is that you? I heard the door slam and I got worried."

Reassuring her grandma, she yelled, "Yeah Grandma, It's me. I was just outside checking the mail."

"Did we get anything good?"

She squinted, looking to see if she could find a return address, but found none."Just a package for Danny. Not sure who it's from though."

"Just put it on the table. I'm sure he'll see it when he gets done with school." Maddie said, before asking, "Hey, you know what? I haven't shown you any of Danny's old photos."

Danielle perked up at the mention of the idea. "Oh my gosh. That would be so awesome Grandma! But I think we should wait a little bit later, ya know, when everyone gets back." Dani didn't want to tell Maddie but she really wanted to take this chance to get back at Danny for not saying hello to her before he went to school this morning, and nothing said revenge like Sam seeing what Dani assumed to be the most embarrassing photos the Fentons had ever taken.

The hours flew by as Maddie and Danielle worked on odd little projects around the house. She learned how to properly handle the washing machine. However, that whole time young Dani could not shake away the odd cold feeling she had. It felt different from her normal ghost sense... this felt sharper... like having an ice cube on the back of your neck for far too long. 'Am I getting sick again?' Danielle thought to herself. Pushing the thought aside, she looked at the clock to see that the time was now six minutes past three. "Perfect!" She yelled aloud. "Just a couple more minutes and I get out here and do something fun."

She stood at the door, waiting to pounce on Danny.

Any minute now.

Sure enough, the door creaked open, and as soon as she saw the sixteen-year-old she tackled him to the ground in a bone-crushing hug.

"Daniell-Can't-breath," He tried to get out though little breaths. Tucker and Sam just looked on in laughter.

She loosened her grip around him just a little, enough so he could breathe a little. Danielle pulled back to look at him. "Why'd you leave without saying goodbye?"

Hearing the hurt in her voice, Danny couldn't help the guilt washing over him.

"I'm sorry Dani, you looked so peaceful sleeping that I didn't want to disturb you. How about we go get some ice cream and I'll tell you some good news."

She happily agreed, spinning him around, and without warning, placed her hands on his shoulders and jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"Ofp." He grunts. "I know you're fourteen, but what have grandma and grandpa been feeding you?" Her only reply was, "Food," and then she gave a slight nudge of her knee into his side, motioning for him to go.

"Aren't you a little too old for a piggyback ride?" He asked as they make their way outside and in the direction of the ice cream shop a few blocks down. Thankfully the rain had started to let up; only a few drops were coming down on them now. "Let me have this Danny. I've never done this before. Especially with... well..a.. you know."

Dad, he finished in his head. Would Sam be creeped out if he was starting to feel comfortable with the idea of Danielle calling him dad? Maybe they need to talk about it.

"If she's so heavy Danny," Tucker cut through his thoughts, "I'll carry her on the way back. She may be fourteen, but she's still a kid. She needs to enjoy being young while she can." The idea of Tucker carrying her made her face explode in crimson red and her stomach swirl with excitement and nervousness for some unknown reason.

"Right Tucker, like you could lift Danielle." Glaring at his friend, he replied, "I carried Danny into that hos- that hosp-" Rolling her eyes, Sam finished his sentence. "The hospital?"

"Exactly!" Sighing, she dropped the argument.

No one noticed Dani's momentary blushing... except for Sam that is, and something told her that the goth knew more of why her face was blushing than she did. "Apparently we have another clueless in the group," She muttered slightly under her breath.

"What was that?" Tucker asked. "Oh, nothing."

It didn't seem like anything, not by the way she smirked, that was the only conclusion Dani could come up with.

* * *

Soon enough, they arrived at the ice cream shop. Danielle and Danny ordered rocky road, while Sam got chocolate mint and Tucker the strawberry. Taking a lick of her ice cream, Danielle's stomach once again turned sour for no reason. Sam asked Dani if anything was wrong but Danielle just shrugged it off as a case of overactive nerves.

As they took their seats in front of the shop, Danielle couldn't wait to ask what news was.

"So what is this news you three have to tell me?" She said, bursting with excitement.

Danny smiled, he was glad to see her so interested. Most of the time, Sam and Tucker were kinda numb to most things that happened to them. It was nice to get a pair of fresh eyes and ears on the team.

"Apparently there's a ghost convention going on this weekend. We were thinking that we all should go to it."

A little "Yee" escaped Dani's mouth. "I have never been to one of those things before. I hear they are super fun. Plus, it'd be pretty cool just to go ghost on an unsuspecting costume contest."

Finishing off her ice cream, she couldn't help the feeling wash over her again. The spine-tingling sensation. Maybe I should talk to grandma about this?

Danny, everyone really, could tell something was off. Danielle was distant. Her eyes were scanning the outside area every few seconds... almost as if she was waiting for an attack or something.

They soon left the ice cream shop, making their way back to Fenton Works... More like running in Dani's case. The anonymous feeling completely forgotten about, she ran to her grandparents to tell them the exciting news. She couldn't stop bouncing as she got the words, "Ghost" and "Convention" out of her mouth.

Trying to calm the excited teen, Maddie firmly placed her hands on Danielle's shoulders. "Sweetie, what's going on?"

Danny made his way into the kitchen to stand next to Danielle before explaining. "There's a ghost convention in town this Friday and we're thinking about going."

Suddenly Jack came running in, standing in front of the teens until Danny was done explaining. "What's this I hear about a ghost convention? That's great! I've been meaning to have a reason to update your hazmat suit!" Danielle was already prepared for what would come next, so she lifted her arms up as Jack grabbed her by the waist and threw her over his shoulder, before moving to the lab. She had learned to accept her fate.

"Alrighty, now that Danny is world famous, we need to make sure that when people look at him they are inspired with great joy and hope, and nothing promotes confidence like a big ol' Jack Fenton on your chest."

Maddie looked at Jack with all the energy she could muster and with a smile said "Eh, no." It took hours for all of them to agree on a new design, and in the end, it wasn't a big difference but just a small upgrade.

They decided while Jack and Maddie drew up the design, Sam would be the one to create it. On Danny, the major changes were an ectoplasm green belt with a D welded into the middle of it. They added a one-inch matching green rim around the beginning of his gloves and boots.

What the final design ended up as stayed true to the original, only this time the white around his neck extended down to his shoulders and another two streaks of white covered both of the sides, going down to his meet his waist.

Jack and Maddie had almost the same design for their new suits, only theirs had color in place of Danny's iconic white. Each suit had the official Danny Phantom DP logo imprinted somewhere on the suit.

"Our parents have done the impossible: They've turned their son into a freaking brand." Jazz hand mumbled over video chat when they called her to show the costume change.

Danielle's was still in the works, because she insisted on still having a crop top, much like the one she wore at the moment, however Danny kept trying to shoot down the idea, saying that she was only fourteen so she shouldn't be showing her midriff while ghost fighting.

Are all dads this overprotective?

She honestly didn't care.

She loved it.

* * *

Making their way up from the basement, Danny saw the package Danielle had brought in for him while he was at school. "GHO, hmm that sounds familiar..." Opening it up, a bunch of confetti flew out of the box, almost coating the entire kitchen floor. After removing the spring-loaded confetti device, Danny noticed a card in a plain yellow envelope. Picking up the card it read: "Dear Danny thank you for saving our skins. As a thank you, here are 6 VIP Tickets to this year's Ghost Hunters Convention. Enjoy your visit and your backstage passes."

"Yes!" Jack exclaimed, reading over Danny's shoulder. "Now your mother and I can attend too, it gives us a good excuse to break in our new outfits!"

Everyone groaned at the thought.

* * *

Thankfully, the rest of the night was uneventful as everyone settled down. Tucker left an hour later and Sam soon after that. When she was leaving, Danny couldn't help but worry about her parents. She reassured him that while they were still in shock about the whole ordeal, that grandma Ida was always around the corner ready to pounce on them at any given moment if need be.

After a kiss between Danny and Sam, and both Danielle and Danny waving her off, they made their trek upstairs to get ready for bed. Before Danielle could make it to her bedroom, however, Danny stopped her.

"Hey, you okay? You kinda seemed out of it today."

She gave a slight nod. "Yeah, just feels off is all. I'm sure it's nothing."

Looking unsure of her response, he just grabbed her in a hug and ruffled her hair. "Okay, if you need anything, I'm right across the hall."

"I'm fine Danny. Promise."

But as she made her way to bed that night, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was coming.

And it was not good.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, so this was basically a filler/ preparation for what's to come next. a foreshadowing, Danielle's definitely on edge. Hehehe. I'm sorry that this came out a bit late. Have to love college. Anyway, thanks for all the feedback. Please read and review. Until next time.**

 **Edited 1-24-18: Thanks again to my beta reader silente faery! (Also, you should check out their stories, they're awesome!) Until next time! 3**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10! Seriously, thank you, everyone, for your support! It means so much! Onto the chapter. Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.**

* * *

She barely got any sleep for the next couple of nights. Between the sinking feeling in her stomach and the excitement of the upcoming convention, she was a mess. Her thoughts were completely jumbled and nothing seemed to help make her focus.

Finally, dawn broke and after beguiling, she decided to drag her butt out of bed. She got ready for the day even though she knew no one else was even close to getting up yet. She got washed, dressed, and then made her bed - something Danny and grandma told her was her responsibility - and stumbled down the stairs.

She was surprised to see Danny already sitting at the table, almost like he was waiting for her. "Hey," She greeted as she went to pull some cereal from the cabinet.

"Hey." He replied back. "Sit down, I think we need to talk."

Worry flashed across her face briefly, before she shook any doubt from her head. She did as requested, taking her seat.

"What's up?"

"Are you okay? Seriously, I saw you toss and turn when I had to use the bathroom. I'm starting to get concerned Danielle."

She shifted her gaze towards her lap. "I'm fine Dan-"

"Don't give me that Danielle!" For a moment she was in complete shock at the fierceness in his voice. He came to stand next to her chair, moving her own to face him. "Whatever is wrong, I'm here for you. If you need to talk, I'm here to listen, we all are."

He paused before continuing. "I know I don't really say this, but I kinda always thought you knew, which is really stupid of me, given all that you've been through, but Dani... we all love you. Your grandparents, Jazz, Tucker; I'm pretty damn sure Sam too, and me. You have become one of the most important people in my life in such a short amount of time Danielle, and you can always come to if something is wrong."

She couldn't help the waves of tears that dribbled from her eyes as she engulfed Danny in a warm embrace. She never had this, she always could see the love on Danny's face for her, but this was different.

It was voiced, and the words were something she very rarely heard. She knew the conversation she had with Sam was needed. They were hardly acquainted when she crashed into her life, but Danny's words were something she never knew that she needed. She finally had something she never knew she needed.

An unknown ache in her heart was starting to become filled...

and she was never gonna take it for granted.

* * *

"Alright everyone it's time to get ready!" Jack announced. "As the kids are putting it, suit up!"

With everyone dressed and trying to ignore Jack's lame slang, they made their way to the RV.

"Now even though the place isn't gigantic it is still big so please stay in groups at all times," said Maddie. "We are all old enough to act responsibly."

"Yes, Ma'am" Tucker shouted back.

When they arrived at the convention center Dani was in awe of how many people showed up for something like a ghost hunters' convention. "I didn't know ghost hunting was so popular," she said. "It didn't use to look like this just last year there were maybe two-hundred and fifty visitors and those were only people in town."

Tucker looked around, smiling. "It looks like there are two-hundred fifty people just outside waiting to get in. Luckily we have our VIP tickets." He boasted.

Walking up to the front gate, the five security guards opened up a separate line for the six of them. Whoever gave them the tickets wanted them to really know the meaning of 'VIP'. Entering the convention center, they saw booth after booth filled with technology, ghost fighting uniforms, and professional know-it-alls trying to share their knowledge of all things ghostly.

"Any volunteers? We're looking for volunteers for Negative Reinforcement of ESP."

"Antique Golden Box! Only opened once in the thirties!"

"Salt here! Get your salt here!"

"Analog TV with voice command!"

"Dr. Malcolm Crowe at your service!"

"Shoeless Joe Jackson here signing autographs!"

"Dolls for sale. Normal dolls, literally any and every doll!"

Everywhere the group went they heard booth after booth yell out their spiel. It was all overwhelming for Danielle, but it only increased the high energy that she had.

"This place is so cool. Thank you for taking me with." Danielle said to the group.

"Hey squirt your family, besides who would miss out on this. I mean look at all this tech." Tucker said, drooling.

"Let's not forget about all the fashion either being practical military or solid black. Oh, mama's happy." Sam said looking at Danny.

"Well let's see if we can't find you anything dark or practical," Danny said with a smile.

"Oh my gosh, Jack! is that who I think it is?" Maddie said in a squeaky voice. Jack scanned the room, looking for who his wife's attention was on.

"Dear possessed turkey it is!" Jack yelled. In perfect harmony, both Maddie and Jack pointed to a little booth with an elderly couple sitting ever so quietly. "It's Ed and Lorraine Warren!"

"Now before we run off in our separate directions we need a game plan," Jack said. "Danielle, Sam and Tucker, we have something for you three. Since you are all a part of this family it is only right we give you these." Reaching into his pocket Jack pulled out three watches that did not look cheap. "Here, one for each of you. Now before you tell us you already have a watch, I want you to know that these are special. If you press the third knob on the side two times it will send a signal that will let us speak to you. The only downside is they only work within a ten-mile radius so it's no cell phone."

Wait... how are we supposed to hear them? I don't see any receivers on our uniforms." Danny asked.

Maddie smiled. "Don't worry sweetie, your father and I have thought ahead. Have you noticed that we all now have the Danny Phantom logo on our uniforms?" she asked.

"Yup." Danny replied. "Woohoo, corporate synergy!"

"Well besides looking incredibly stylish they also act as a communication device when pressed twice."

With that, everyone split into groups of two. Sam and Danny went to the clothing booths, Maddie and Jack went to see their heroes, and Tucker and the ever so happy Danielle went to explore the food vendors.

As they went, Dani stopped suddenly with a thought. "Hold on a minute Tuck, I gotta wash my hands before we eat."

Tucker gave Dani a quick nod before she headed off to the ladies room.

* * *

After a good wash, Dani headed back to the convention to devour some ghostly Mexican food. When she stepped out back to the convention, it hit her entire body like a truck. In a moment she was frozen: her eyes were sealed shut from fear, and in the next moment everything was cold. Cold down to her core. She couldn't breathe, that gift being taken away from her. She couldn't move, and the more she tried the tighter it got. She could hear something moving but it was faint, like a snake swimming through the air.

"Listen, child." She heard a sharp unforgiving voice. "Listen and you are free. Do you understand?" Dani struggled. How could she respond she couldn't even breathe? "Just nod, fool!" Making the motion with all of her might she was released. She took several shallow sharp breaths as she struggled to remain conscious.

"What... do you... want from me?" Danielle asked, her lungs still inflamed.

"My dear child, I want nothing from you but your cooperation. My master, on the other hand, wishes to have you as his guest."

"Well, you can tell him I politely decline!" Dani opened her green eyes to shoot a blast of energy at the creep but she couldn't see a thing. "What have you done to the lights?" Dani asked with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"That is the wrong question, my dear. Nor is it the right answer."

Feeling that pain in her stomach again, Danielle immediately dove to her right, landing on something hard and metallic. She felt at the side she landed on. It was sticky but not warm. She was just glad that thing didn't get a hold of her again.

"I'm going to find you creep, and when I do you will be sorry!" Dani yelled in desperation at the emptiness.

Hideous laughter filled the already chilling air. "I am not afraid of a little lab rat. To me, you are a disgrace to our kind. You are nothing, but I am not here for me."

She felt the pain once more and ran forward, tripping over the clutter of the room. After hitting the ground she felt heat radiate from her left leg. Reaching for the warmth she felt it... sticky and warm. She let out a slight hiss of pain.

"See my child, you can't be left out here by yourself... you have already damaged my master prize." The warmth soon became a fire as Dani put pressure on her leg with her right hand. She then slid her other hand against the wall, in a desperate hope to find something useful. After a bit, she felt it. A light switch. Finally some luck.

She flipped it on to see a dimly lit storage room filled with all sorts of garden and grounds keeping supplies... but no ghost. Taking a deep breath, Danielle covered her wound and leaned against the wall, weary from her encounter. She was looking for a door when out of the corner of her eye she saw that same dark blur she saw the other day. Looking back to the center of the room she saw the single light bulb that illuminated the room become dimmer. She could still hear the slight buzz of the electricity as the room became dark once more. Staring at the now barely lit light bulb, she saw two glowing yellow eyes take its place.

"Now!" The voice shook the room making the air somehow even colder. "You will come with me!"

Without warning the door burst open and the room was filled with the light of a thousand suns. A shriek emits from the shadow creature as it began to dissolve in the light. The Shadow dashed through the open door.

"Stay away from my daughter, asshole!"

Danielle opened her eyes to see Sam drop her bazooka and run right for her. Sam embraced her, lifting her feet slightly off the ground with a hug that could easily rival one from grandpa.

"Sam? Danielle?" They heard Danny yell from the distance.

"She's down here!" Sam yelled back. Hearing heavy breathing, Danielle got up as best she could. Looking at the door, they noticed Danny walking through the frame clutching his side, an ectoplasm trail following his every step.

"Danny, are you ok?" Danielle asked. Danny took another step before collapsing to the ground, barely clinging to life. His eyes closed as his vision started to become clouded. A small puddle of green liquid accumulated by his side.

"Danny!"

"Dad!"

The words echoed in his head as the world around him faded into darkness.

* * *

 **A/N Am I evil yet? No? Yes? Okay,** I'mma **go hide in the corner. It's my grandpa's birthday, so I decided to honor him by posting this a day early. He always watched my tv shows with me :) By the way. The cliffhanger was my husband's idea, so if you're mad, take it up with him. Lol.**

 **So, question time, will Danny be okay? Will he remember Danielle calling him dad? AND WHO THE HECK IS THE BIG BAD GUY? Who knows? Well, me, but that's beside the point. See you next time! 3**

 **Edited** 1-24-18: **Thank you to my beta reader** silente **faery! Until next time.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11. Thank you for the comments on the last chapter, it, the feedback really inspires me to write. On to the story! Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, Butch Hartman does.**

* * *

He slowly opened his eyes, the moonlight bathing his bedroom floor, giving Danny enough light to see in his darkened room. As he started to sit up slowly, rubbing the blur from his eyes, he noticed two figures, one curled on the edge of his bed, and the other on his right a few feet away, laying on what looked like a makeshift bed.

As his eyes finally come into focus, he looked to see Sam at his feet, appearing to be shifting around, starting to wake up. Danielle was the one on the makeshift bed of couch cushions, who was still sound asleep.

Sam's head turned to face him, and when she noticed Danny was awake, she shots up from her lying position, moving across the small space between them and embraced him in a soft hug, clutching him to her as close as bodily able.

"How are you feeling?" She suddenly pulled back, moving her hands all around him, through his hair, face, everywhere, examining for any injuries that she may need to take of.

"I'm fine Sam. Promise." He gave a small smile in reassurance.

Sam's eyes went over to Danielle. "Now where have I heard that before?"

His eyes followed that of his girlfriend. Happiness filled him at her the sight of her being okay.

"Like father like daughter." Sam remarked fondly.

"Maybe we should wake her up? Let her see that you're okay? She was up five hours past her usual bedtime; she was really worried about you." Sam then got up, and went to the sleeping teen to shake her awake.

She almost leapt up from her sleeping place. "Is he okay, where is he?" Sam took the scared girl in her arms to soothe her until she was calm enough for rational thought.

"He's okay. He's right there." She pointed at where Danny sat against his pillow.

Dani rushed over, threw the covers away and crawled in beside him, curling up against him. She looked so little by the way her body was tucked in, so much that it made her look younger than she was.

"Okay, so what happened?" Dani asked him. "How'd you find me?"

"Well, it started when we noticed you were missing. We were just purchasing Sam's new cargo pants when Tucker ran up to us shaking and covered in taco grease. Sam tried to calm him down; he was so worried he couldn't speak. When he could, he told us that he couldn't find you and that he had waited for way longer than it takes for one to wash their hands. When he got close to the restroom to call out for you, the Ecto App on his PDA went off. We knew something was up but the App only tells us a ghost was there, it doesn't track them."

"How did you find me then? I was close to being a goner when you two showed up."

"To put it simply, we all owe a lot to grandma and grandpa. When we went to the convention yesterday they brought one of their new inventions, the Fenton Finder. What it does is it uses the DNA of any being, Ecto or not, and gives you their location so long as they are within a five-mile radius."

"That's clever, but where did you get my DNA? It's not like you carry around spare parts of me." She pauses, a concerned look coming across her face. "Right...?"

"No dork," Sam interrupted. "We had to use our brains for a minute. Seeing as you are our child you have our DNA so I took a strand of both mine and Danny's hair and put it into the Fenton finder. Lucky for us it worked almost instantly. But for a split second it seemed that there were two dots on the screen but it disappeared as fast as it appeared. We ran to you as fast as we could, and when we got to where the Finder was taking us we saw that the door was unlocked. We didn't waste any time bursting that thing open." She turned her attention to Danny. "When I blasted that shadow it not only ran through you but it must have given you a good slice on the way out. Thank goodness it didn't hit anything important."

How bad was it?" Danny asked.

"Well, it was deep. Even with your healing speed, it might leave a scar."

"A scar," Danny said. The room filled with silence for a moment before he exclaimed, _"Awesome!"_

Both Sam and Dani just laughed at his antics. Danny could tell Danielle was slowly nodding off to sleep.

"Do you want to go to your own bed?" Sam asked Dani softly.

Dani shook her head, tightening her arms around Danny's waist, deciding that she needed to know he was alright after the rollercoaster that was yesterday. Within moments the young halfa was sound asleep once again.

Sam pulled the covers over both of them, tucking in more Danielle than her boyfriend. "You know, it was probably a setup. The whole con thing. The tickets were just too much of a coincidence." Danny gave a slight hum in agreement. "I have this sinking feeling that whatever this ghost wants, it's connected to Danielle. Danny, what do we do?"

In all of his life, in all the time that he had known Sam Manson, he could only count on one hand of how many times he had seen her vulnerable, and this is one of them.

"We'll go to the Ghost Zone tomorrow after school and talk to Clockwork and Frostbite. Maybe there's something that they can update us on, and if not, then we have something, even if it's a little, we still have some info for them."

"That was Johnny 13's shadow, Danny. Johnny's. That thing can't speak, let alone cause that pain like he did to Danielle. Whoever is behind this is giving his minions an ample amount of power." He slowly got up from his bed, as to not disturb Danielle. Grabbing Sam, he pulled her into him, holding onto her to support both of them.

"I don't know Sam, I wish I did, I wish I had all the answers, but I don't." She didn't reply so they just sat there in silence, considering everything that had been thrown at them. How to process everything. How to understand.

Not letting go of his girlfriend, he pulled back slightly to meet her eyes. "Was I hallucinating, or did she call me dad?"

She gave him a nod. "How... how do you feel about that? Is it too much for you right now?" She glanced at Dani, her hair sprawled out on the pillow; the pure image of Danny sleeping minus the hair length. "She needs you. She needs me too, I'm not dismissing that, but, while she had had no image of a mother, she had an image of a father, and it wasn't good, not by any means. I think that as long as she's ready to call you dad and you're ready to hear it, it's time for you to show her what a real dad is."

"What if I make a mistake, mess up? I'm still a kid myself, how do I discipline her? There's no _if_ for when she does something rebellious, she's our daughter, she's bound to do something wrong." Taking his face in her hands, he saw that her eyes held nothing but a serious tone.

"Yes. You are going to mess up." He was about to reply when she sent him a glare to shut up. "But that's okay, that's part of parenting. You told me that a while ago. The thing is, we have so many people supporting us. When we have to punish her, I'm sure your parents will be more than willing to give us advice. The thing is, we're gonna love her, unconditionally. At the end of the day, as much as she knows we love her, as long as she has someone to come home to then we're doing something right."

He smiled at the reassurance that she gave, and gave her a warm, sweet kiss in return.

"By the way," he said as they parted from the kiss, "You're gonna give her the period talk when it comes. And we'll both give her the talk when we can."

"Um, excuse me?" She points to her deep violet eyes. "Alexandria Genesis. I don't get periods."

 _Shoot. Who then?_

"Jazz?" He offered.

Sam nodded in agreement. "Jazz." She looked at his injured side. "Now come on, you need to go to bed and rest. I just put your bandage on, so you should be good and healed up by morning."

* * *

They were all eating breakfast when Tucker came barging in, Sam in tow. "Hello, my fellow citizens!"

Danny and Danielle placed their face into their hands, muffling their groans of discontent. "Are you always going to come in saying that?"

Without missing a beat, Tucker pulled out a vanilla colored folder, "You won't be dissing me dude, not after what I did for your daughter." A huge smile played on his lips as he slapped the folder down onto the table.

Taking the folder, Danielle glanced over its contents. Her eyes widened in shock and happiness. Many emotions washed over her face at once. "I'm gonna be officially in school on Monday!?" Now everyone at the table had similar expressions of that of Dani. The girl leapt from her chair, and full force tackled Tucker, both of them lashing on the floor. Giving a warm, sweet embrace, Danielle blushed as she realizes she was laying on Tucker for just a bit too long.

Jumping up from her position, blood rushed to her cheeks as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"Uh-um-Sorry." With that, she dashed upstairs, muttering that she needed to get dressed.

Putting her hand to her mouth, Sam muttered, "clueless," between two fake coughs.

Ignoring Sam's implication, Tucker turns to Danny. "We're still going to the Ghost Zone after school, right?" The two nodded in agreement.

"Do you really think Frostbite and Clockwork will have more information? Wouldn't they just come and update you?" Maddie asked, before taking a sip of milk.

They had already talked to his parents about their impromptu Ghost Zone trip, and even though they were against the idea, they insisted on them at least taking the Specter Speeder if they were so set on going.

Danny shook his head. "With all the craziness in the Ghost Zone they've been dealing with, I wouldn't be surprised if a trip into our world is the last thing on his mind." Getting up from his seat, he went to get ready for his day as well.

* * *

School ended rather quickly, much to Danny's relief. They went to grab Danielle, and then quickly filed into the Specter Speeder and raced off to the Far Frozen to speak with Frostbite. The large fur beast ran out to greet them as soon as their vehicle landed on the icy terrain.

"Ah, The Great One, and his friends! How good it is to see you once again! I hope you've had safe times since we've last spoken." Leaving the Specter Speeder, they all went to stand in front of the friendly creature.

"We've... had our complications. As of right now though, we're okay." Soon enough, Frostbite's eyes landed on Danielle. Giving a small smile to the timid girl, he went on to ask, "Who is this Great One?"

Placing an arm around Danielle, Danny took a deep breath. "Frostbite, I'd like you to meet my daughter."

Dani's eyes lit up at the mention of the word daughter. Yeah, he had said the word before to her, but ever since she had called him dad when he passed out, she had been afraid of how he'd react to the title, or if he had even heard her yell the word in that dire moment.

But this... this confirmed it. He heard it, he knows, and he was okay with it. Smiling larger than she ever had in her entire life, she looked briefly into his eyes. That look in her eyes told Danny all he needed to know. He simply nodded and pulled her in for a loving embrace. A single tear starts to fall down her cheek as the reality of their situation hits her.

"So what might I help you with oh, Great One? Although pleasant to see all of you again there must some reason for this visit, is there not?"

"Yeah, there's a reason. The other night Danielle was attacked by Johnny 13's shadow, only this was different from before. The shadow was stronger, and way more evil. He was bad before, but he was always just a part of Johnny before. This was terrifying."

"Anyway," Sam cut in, "Is there any idea of who this ghost might be?"

Frostbite sadly shook his head. "Unfortunately, with the few answers that we do get, another question appears along with them."

"All that we have is what this shadow did. It appears we are at an impasse. What do we do?"

Frostbite seemed to ponder this question, then suddenly he snapped his fingers as he seemed to remember something. "Wait here." With that, he stomped away to another part of his home.

Once back in view, everyone could see him holding a rolled up, familiar piece of paper in his icy claws. "The Infi-map? Are you sure you can trust us with this Frostbite, I mean, remember what happened the last time?"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, Great One. We do not have time to be frugal with this. But you must still be wary with this artifact; it has been around far longer than I and with luck will outlast all of our offspring as well. Use its secrets wisely."

Placing the map on the dashboard, they all buckled up to prepare to finally have some answers to this mess. Danny picked up the map, saying, "Take me where we can find any answers about these kidnappings."

Without warning, the outside of the Specter Speeder turned into a blur as the accelerative force pinned everyone to the back of their seats. Dani closed her eyes trying not to overstimulate her already flaring scenes. Mere moments passed when everything came to a complete stop, jerking everyone forward and testing the strength of Jack and Maddie's seatbelts. Luckily everyone was unharmed.

"Where are we?" Sam asked, her head spinning.

Tucker looked at his PDA. "According to my GPS app, we are somewhere in upper Wisconsin."

"Wait! What?" Danielle asked nervously. The crew looked forward out of the front windshield but all they could see was complete darkness with just a single beam of light illuminating a small area of the floor in the center of the room.

Danny's hand began to illuminate with a green glow. "Come on everyone, let's investigate." One by one they slid off their seats and exited the speeder.

When Dani's feet touched the floor the first thing she noticed was that every step she took was different and the floor was completely uneven. A sinking feeling hit her as she took her first breath of air. It was stale and metallic, leaving a bad taste in her mouth and an even worse feeling in her stomach.

"Doesn't this place seem kinda familiar?" Danny asked.

Even with his hand glowing they could barely see anything beyond them, except for rubble and broken glass everywhere. Danny and Sam made it towards the back of the room.

Danny looked around him. "Whatever it is we are looking for it has to be here the infa map doesn't lie."

As everyone was off exploring separate parts of the room, Danielle made it to the only part of the room illuminated by any kind of light. She looked down on the ground to see a purple floor tile with two golden letters inscribed into the tile: 'VM'.

Dropping to her knees, Danielle started hyperventilating.

"No,

No

no

No

No!"

Her shriek echoed through the whole room, filling it in moments with her dread. Danny and Sam immediately rushed to where she had fallen.

"Are you okay Danielle?" Danny asked as he and Sam wrapped their arms around her.

Danielle was panicking. "I thought he was gone, I thought I was safe. It's him, it's him, why did it have to him?" Danielle cried out, shaking as hard as a leaf in a hurricane.

"Who is he Dani?" Sam asked.

Danielle raises a shaking finger and pointed to the broken tile.

Danny went to pick it up and noticed the inscription of 'VM' on the front. "Vlad," he growled.

"Tucker!" Sam yelled. Tucker scurried over as fast as he could. "Take Dani back to the speeder and make sure you take good care of her. There is no reason why she has to relive this."

Tucker took a moment just looking at Danielle. She was terrified, terrified like nothing he had ever seen before. Something in Tucker made his chest swell up and in one swift move he picked up Danielle, bridal style, and carried her to the speeder, the scrawny young man not bothered in the slightest by the girl's weight.

With Danielle in safe hands, Danny and Sam returned to the back of the lab. They looked for any clue... anything tying Vlad to the mysterious disappearances, but came up with nothing.

Lucky for Sam being a vegetarian, her keen eye site noticed a bookshelf. "That can't be," Sam said with slight joy. "Is that a first edition of The Raven? This goes for about four thousand bucks online. Well, seeing as the house is abandoned and the owner is never going to return I'd better get it before the banks do." Pulling the book off the shelf, Sam's hand bumped one of his other books, only as she does a little keypad protruded from the back wall with buttons blowing green. Sam looked back at Danny. "Ooh, I just can't wait to see all the strange things hidden in there."

"I'm just hoping it's not another me." Danny said jokingly. They walked up to the keypad.

Sam smiled. "I bet it's your mom's birthday."

Sending her a slight scowl, "Not funny Sam... but probably." Danny entered in his mother's birthday. After he pressed 'enter', a holographic Maddie appeared in front of them and said, "Anyone trying to steal or trade the secrets of this laboratory will be disintegrated in one minute. Enjoy your day."

Sam panicked. "Crap! Danny, I can't think of anything else. Tucker?"

Tucker had returned with Danielle since she assured him she was feeling better. He shook his head; for once he didn't have a quick idea to get them out of this one. What could they do? They had only fifty seconds left. They were running out of time.

"I think I know the code." They turned to see Danielle, still shaken, but more steady on her feet. She pushed past everyone and went to the keypad, punching in some numbers unknown to the group.

The red flashing light abruptly stopped and the Maddie hologram reappeared. "You have entered the correct code. Self-destruct deactivated. I am glad to serve you, Vlad. Te-He." Everyone gagged upon hearing the hologram.

The steel door moved away, shaking the very foundation of what remained of Vlad's Lab. In the newly exposed dark room, there was a table. Lying on it was a glowing small piece of paper with a pane of glass over it for protection. Danny entered the room and when he does he heard a loud cracking noise above him. Phasing through the glass, he grabbed the paper and flew out of the room right as it collapsed on itself.

"That was a close one, Indiana Jones." Sam joked.

She wasn't joking for long when she heard the same cracking noise throughout the entire lab. "Danny..." She trailed off as the floor gave out from underneath her. Danny flew down into the darkness below, desperate to save her. It was pitch black but for a moment Danny could see a pale blue light shining in his eye. 'My ring', he thought as he aimed himself at that light. Catching Sam, he flew back up.

"Tucker, grab the damn map," Danny yelled as he phased Sam and himself into the Speeder.

In perfect unison, everyone yelled "Take us home!"

In an instant, everyone was once again pinned against the back wall of the Speeder. Thinking quickly, Danny looked at Danielle. "You need to make Tucker intangible, now! I have Sam!" The two halfas grabbed their friend's hands and just in time made them intangible just as the speeder stopped, throwing the intangible occupant of the vehicle with great force. "Good thinking. The last thing I want to be is a mess on a windshield." Tucker said. They had done it; they made it back to Fenton Works in one piece.

"Is everyone alright?" Danny asked the room. Everyone gave a nod and collectively shook the dust off their clothes. He then looked to Danielle. "Way to go by the way. You really saved our butts back there. Out of curiosity, how did you know what the passcode was?"

Danielle looked down in shame. "You know, when we first met Vlad had me convinced that you and your entire family were trying to ruin his perfect world he tried so hard to create. The one thing he could never get past was how Grandpa caused his accident that made him half ghost. He would tell me that story almost every day just so I knew ho-how lucky I had it not to have a father that evil. The passcode was the day of his accident. I guess some people just don't move on."

Everyone was in shock. They knew Vlad was a fruitloop but to hold that much of a grudge. Within moments they moved in to give Danielle a gigantic hug, hoping not only to ease her pain but hoping she also knew that she was forgiven.

Danielle looked at Danny. "I'm sorry for what I did back then, dad." That's new. Just gotta get used to that I guess.

"It's okay, we all did stupid things when we were young. Right, goth Tucker?"

Putting on an expression of fake hurt, Tucker retorted, "Hey, it was one day! Just one day!"

"So ghost boy, what did we just risk our life for this time?" Sam asked.

Danny took out the little piece of paper and placed it on one of the table. "Sam, can you bring me the Infi-map? I have a feeling." Rolling out the entirety on the Infi-map there appeared to be a small piece missing from the corner of the map. Danny placed the newfound piece of paper in the empty spot to find that it was a perfect match. On the piece was the faded image of a large Mansion. He smiled. "I think we know where those missing ghosts are going. Now, who is ready to bust them out?"

* * *

 **A/N Yee, Danielle is finally comfortable with calling Danny dad, and vice versa. Now they just gotta figure out exactly who** the this **new ghost is, and why he's doing what he's doing, and how they're gonna take care of this guy; seeing as they don't quite know what they're up against. Also, I hate putting poor Danielle in that kind of state, she just has to keep being surrounded by the love of her family and friends and eventually, she'll be okay. And finally, she's officially in school! That's next chapter. Until next time! 3**

 **Edited 1-25-18: Thank you to my beta reader silente faery**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12! This is more of a calm before the storm kinda chapter, but I honestly love the idea of Danielle going to school, so I'm excited to write it! Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. (If I did, it'd still be on)**

* * *

The clock on her nightstand read three thirty in the morning, but she couldn't sleep. 'I have school in the morning' was the only thought running through her head.

With a sigh of defeat, Danielle decided that it was not worth trying to sleep more, instead throwing back the covers. Tip-toeing out of her room, she took the stairs two at a time, as quietly as possible. Entering the kitchen, she headed straight to the freezer for some waffles.

Popping the waffles into the toaster, her mind drifted to the day ahead of her. Would she make friends? Would people buy the story of her being her dad's cousin? They already had it planned out that if anyone asked, she could tell them that she was part ghost; that she had gone into the portal with him, ending in her getting powers too. The reason for not coming out publically with her existence was that the family wanted to keep her hidden with a life as normal as possible.

Out of nowhere, the lights turned on, and she turned to meet Danny's intimidating glare. _Shit_. He was leaning against the frame of the entryway to the kitchen with arms crossed over his chest.

"Hi, daddy!" _That's what kids when they get caught by their parent, right?_ She went for the cute, innocent facade, hoping he bought it. However, being fourteen, she was pretty sure she'd outgrown the time where a dad doesn't look past the cuteness of his daughter... to know when she did something she wasn't supposed to.

"Danielle, what are you doing up? It's almost four in the morning, and you have school in a few hours." His hands were on his hips.

"I was hungry, and I'm nervous about school, I couldn't sleep. I figured I'd have an early breakfast."

Rolling his eyes, he went to pull out two plates from the cabinet. "Don't tell your grandparents."

Doing a zipping motion across her lips to indicate that her lips were sealed, they went to sit at the dining table after Danielle placed the waffles on the plates.

"Try not to stress too much on your first day Dani, We'll all be right there for you." Heck, we might even have some classes with you."

She stopped mid-bite. "Um, not too many, right?" She gave a nervous laugh.

"I don't know yet. Either way, you better behave in all your classes, Danielle. Lancer will know the truth about how we're related, and he'll know that if anything comes up, to get me and Sam."

"I'll act my age dad."

"You're technically only two."

She just smirked as she continued to eat.

* * *

Two cups of coffee, and begging for a piggyback ride, and she was still tired. _Dad's right,_ Danielle thought, _No more getting up before six._

However, the moment her feet hit the concrete finds of Casper High, all tiredness seemed to drain away. Her eyes lightened in delight. She took both Sam's and her dad's hands and started to do mini jumps, not able to contain the excitement that had bubbled up inside.

"Just give it a few months," Tucker broke in, "It'll lose its charm."

Sam lightly hit his arm, giving him a scowl. "It's her first day. Don't start putting thoughts in her head before class has even started."

Heading to Lancer's class, Danielle could feel her nerves start to flare throughout her body. Lopping her arms through both Sam and Danny, they continued on their way. Once they entered Lancer's class, they saw it was deserted, seeing as the first bell had yet to ring. The teacher's head snapped up to attention as he saw the four enter.

"Ah, Mr. Fenton. This must be your cousin, Danielle. I'll escort you to the main office so you can retrieve your schedule."

Danny held up a hand in question, "Actually, Mr. Lance-, uh, sir. We were wondering if we could talk to you for a minute. Privately."

Lancer gestured for them to close the door behind them, which Tucker did, and locked it for good measure.

"Okay," Looking between the four of them, "Daniel, what do you kids need to tell me?"

Looking between the four of them, Danny doesn't even know where to begin. "Well, um. It's a long story, and we're going to need you to listen entirely out."

"Mr. Fenton, you're a half-ghost, hero, that saved the world, and our butts countless times. I'm sure at this point, there's not much left to surprise me." So they gave him the rundown. From the creation of Dani, to finding out Dani was their daughter, to why ghost attacks have been so scarce for almost two months.

" _Sweet Gwen Stacy Clone Saga!"_ There's a pause in the classroom. "What I can read comics too can't I?" After the teacher calmed down, he took a good look at the young people in front of him. Without a doubt, he could see both Ms. Manson, and Mr. Fenton in the fourteen-year-old. 'How crazy did their life get behind closed doors?' Lancer thought.

"I'll keep your secret, but I fail to see why I need to be in the loop, of your, um, exact, relation?" Out of nowhere, Valerie, entered the classroom, swiftly locking the door once again behind her.

"I thought I locked that?" Tucker explained, before she held up a bobby pin as her explanation. Danny looked back at Lancer, "She knows."

He looked to see Danielle embracing Valerie in a tight hug before continuing. "Anyway, we need you in the loop, because in case of emergency, Sam and I would like to be the first to know. That includes if she gets in trouble." He sent Danielle a warning glance to not make Lancer have to come get him for any behavioral problems.

"I can do that. I should warn you, however, Mr. Fenton, Ms. Fenton, that people might not entirely buy your story. It's just too convenient, if you ask me. Just keep your eyes open, okay?" They all nod in agreement. "Great, let's get your schedule then."

* * *

Her first class was English Literature, and she honestly liked it. Both Sam and Danny were in this class, but not Tucker, and a little part of her heart sunk for some unknown reason. The teacher however, against her will, made her come up to the front of the class to introduce herself.

"I'm Danielle Fenton, yes, Danny's cousin, my parents lived in the country, I was homeschooled and they thought it'd be best if I went to an actual school, so they sent me to live with my aunt and uncle."

"Do you have ghost powers?" A blonde headed jock, Dash Baxter from what she could remember, yelled. She flares her glowing green eyes in answer. The students started unleashing questions.

"Are you going to help Danny in his ghost fighting?"

"How'd you get your powers in the first place?"

"How long have you been half ghost?"

So many questions were being asked. At one time, it became overwhelming for the young halfa, so not doing what to do, she looked around helplessly.

"Enough!" The questions abruptly stopped and all turned to see Danny standing from his seat. "She will answer your questions, but one at a time. She's never had this much attention drawn to her, and that's why we kept her a secret. As long as it's okay with the teacher, ask one at a time, and if Danielle isn't comfortable with answering, don't push."

Dani felt the weight lift off her chest as the questions slowed.

"My parents were very reserved people, resulting in a very sheltered life. You guys know the story about how Fenton became Phantom, but what was kept secret was that I was there the day of the accident, and I went in there with him; which caused me to become a halfa."

There were a dozen more questions, eventually, the teacher had to regain control over his students and remind them that they still had a lesson they needed to learn so they should ask their questions after class.

Back at her desk, Danielle noticed a folded up piece of paper just laying there. Picking it, she carefully hid it under her desk, so the teacher would not see it as she read it.

 _You did good kid. You got this._ -Danny

Her dad was right.

She got this.

* * *

Okay, so, maybe she didn't, she realized at lunch. She sat at the table that Sam, Valarie, Danny, and Tucker pointed to while they were behind her in the lunch line. While she waited for them to grab their own food, she expected nothing but drowned out chatter from other students while she ate.

That is, until Dash Baxter showed up. He just smoothly slid into the spot next to her, his mouth turned up into a sly smile, almost cocky, in Danielle's opinion; but she was not one to judge. What she really didn't expect was for him to use his famous pickup line.

"Meet me. Who doesn't? Name's Dash Baxter"

She almost gagged, and silently hoped that the trio would come to her aid soon. "Um, hi?" she replied almost timidly. Thankfully, soon, her family got to the table.

"Uh, Dash, what are you doing talking to my cousin?" Danielle could tell Danny was holding back anger, even Sam too; but she was quieter about it. Danny on the other hand, well, his knuckles were turning white from holding the tray too tight.

"Oh, nothing too important Fenton," He never did drop the last name. "I was just trying to tell your cousin how cute she is."

Danielle could feel the blood running to her cheeks, which only upset her further. This feeling wasn't like how it felt like with Tucker when she got embarrassed about how she hugged him a bit too long.

No, this feeling was unwelcomed. She didn't want to be anywhere near him. "I'm not interested, thanks."

He was about to reply when Tucker cut him off, "She's not interested dude, lay off." Danielle sent him a smile in thanks.

While Sam and Tuck were focused on trying to make sure Dash didn't take it too far, Valarie paid close attention to Danny. His hands were now shaking, and she could almost see the ectoplasm radiating off of them. She turned back to Dash.

"Dash, I suggest you leave, before I make you..." Valerie threatened. "Or Danny does, and you don't want that, now do you?"

He backed off, and retreated back to his usual table with the A-listers. She gave Sam a nudge to alert her to Danny's state. After she soothed her boyfriend, Valarie could tell he was finally realizing the reality around him.

"Are you okay Dani?" He said while gritting his teeth.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I mean, it's bound to happen, right? I'm a half ghost superhero." She stuck her tongue out as she said the word superhero. "The girls flock to you all the time. I guess I should just get used to it."

He didn't want her to get used to it though. He knew what it felt like to be constantly fawned over, and eventually, it gets to be too much. A lot of the girls didn't understand his choice in Sam, but he was undoubtedly happy with her.

* * *

Speaking of people not caring about his relationship, there was one person that stood out of the crowd:

Paulina Sanchez.

They were all at their lockers, with Danielle's being right next to Sam's. They were just chattering amongst themselves, waiting for first bell to ring. He could tell Danielle was becoming more tired, if her face planted against her locker with drool dripping from her mouth was any indication. At the moment, he honestly was considering flying to the nearest gas station to grab her something with sugar.

Out of nowhere, the last person Danny wanted to see came sauntering up saying, "Danny, oh Danny!"

They all groaned, waking up Danielle.

"Wh-What's happening?" She looked over to see Paulina just a few feet away from her.

"Danny, why didn't you tell me you had a cousin? That's so sweet of you to take in your orphaned cousin!" She batted her eyelashes, and he stared at her in disbelief. _Was she serious?_ Before he was able to retort a sarcastic response, Danielle cut her off.

"Uh, excuse me?" He felt her blood start to boil. "My parents are very much alive, and in _love_." She stressed the word, even though she wouldn't be able to understand the meaning behind it. "Where did you hear my parents are dead?" Her anger was becoming rather apparent. This-this witch was insulting _her_ parents.

And, okay, she didn't know the whole real story, but still. The principle still stood.

"Oh, it's the talk of the school. That you lied about the whole 'your parents wanting you to have a normal life' thing. That the actual story is that they died and it's just a cover-up."

Dani was about to pounce on her. Show her what ghost hunting had done for her human abilities.

However, Sam noticed it right away and caught her by the waist, mid - air. Paulina jumped back as Danielle struggled against the goths hold. She swung her arms out in front of her, trying to get the A-lister in arm's reach to scratch her 'beautiful ' skin. Because being beautiful and actually knowing that you were was an entirely different thing than using it to put another human being down.

Danielle didn't even notice Sam pulling her towards the bathroom. Once she landed, she was pulled in to a soft hug as she felt the tears fall.

"Hey, don't pay attention to what she says; she's just a witch." Sam said, pulling back to wipe the tears away from Dani's eyes. "How about this, I give you full permission that when she says something else about your parents, you tell her that your mom is a total badass that could take down ghosts faster than Danny."

Her eyes brightened at the suggestion.

"Really?"

"Really."

Giving her a tight squeeze, Danielle wiped the rest of the tears from her eyes with tissues, and headed back to class, before waving goodbye and muttering, "Thanks, Sam."

Sam. That was her name. That's what the young teen had been calling her these months.

So why did it make her stomach flop?

* * *

It was the last period of the day, and Danielle was getting her books for Biology. Out of nowhere, Sam appeared, her arm hidden behind her back, a mischievous smile lying on her lips.

"Okay, what's up? You're looking at me weird." Dani asked her.

"I almost forgot with all the commotion at lunch, to give you this." She brought her arms out from behind her, revealing a small container with a white frosted cake inside.

"Is that Grandma Ida's red velvet cake!?"Her voice lifted with excitement.

"Mhm. She wanted to give you a small piece to bribe you to come over and make some with her."

Grabbing the small treat, she all but engulfed in within seconds.

Her eyes almost rolled into the back of her head at the mouth-watering taste. It made her taste buds sing in such a way that no ordinary candy had done so far. This was definitely going to becoming an addicting food. Not that she really cared though.

Besides, grandma made a new rule: No sweets before bed.

But as she continued on her way to class after she wiped the crumbs away from her mouth, all that she knew now was that everything was okay, everything at this moment was good, and she'd surely enjoy her new life.

* * *

Back in the Clock Tower, Clockwork let out a saddened sigh, looking at the future on his screen.

"Only if they knew what was to come."

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you to my beta reader silente faery for fixing my errors. I really appreciate it! Next chapter they're gonna go try to bust out the ghost, let's see how that works. Lol Until next time! 3**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13! I'm so excited to get this one out, let me know what you guys think! Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. All right's go to Butch Hartman.**

* * *

"This is stupid. I'm not the only one that thinks that, right?" Valerie looked around the small group - Sam, Tucker, Danielle, and herself -that was gathered down in the Fenton's lab.

"Trust me, I agree with you," Sam said, sighing, "but Danny won't let this go."

Danny just ignored them in favor of looking at the Infi-map for the millionth time that she had been there.

"So, let me get this straight: you want to just want to take, Sam, Tucker Danielle, and yourself, forgetting me by the way, and just go in there, fists blazing?"

He gave a mindless nod.

"Are you stupid!? Seriously, at least bring me and your parents. Jazz is coming home for winter break next week, you should wait for her too. You don't know this ghost; you don't know what you're up against."

"Exactly," His eyes snapped up to meet hers. "We _don't_ know what we're up against. I'm not sending any more people into this than I have to. I'm already on edge about bringing _her_." He pointed towards Danielle who was on the computer playing Doom, lost to the world around her.

"Then why are you bringing her?"

"Because knowing her, she'd follow after us, no matter what we'd do."

He had a point. That girl was determined when she wants to be. Sighing, she continued, "So what do you want me to do? I'm assuming there's a reason I'm here if I'm not coming with you."

"I want you to distract my parents. Just keep them busy, I don't care how."

"Fine, but if you get caught, it's on your head, not mine."

Danielle had never been one for the Ghost Zone. She never knew why, but the looming green swirl abyss always freaked her out. The only place she was becoming comfortable with was the Far Frozen.

However, Danny insisted on not having any help. This mission was far too dangerous for anyone beyond those absolute necessary to go. Even though she personally thought it wasn't the best plan, he was her _dad_. He knew what he was doing, right?

 _Right_?

"Just to recap," Danny said. "Valerie, you stay and distract my family while Sam, Danielle, Tucker and I infiltrate this kidnapping ghost's layer and rescue all of the missing ghosts. Are we ready?"

Valerie looked unimpressed with Danny's plan but the rest of the group went along.

"Well, here we go," Danny said, just a tinge of nervousness in his voice.

* * *

Upon entering the ghost zone, everything seemed empty. Usually, there was some sort of strange floating objects a ghost might have dropped on their way back to home, but this, this was the trued definition of the word 'void'. Void of love, kindness, and from what the four of the felt, void of hope. This for sure was different, this felt like the more evil version of deep space.

Danny looked around the Specter Speeder to see his friends more scared than usual. Whatever was going on, it didn't feel right. Taking a deep breath Danny opened the Infi-map.

"Take us to the Mansion!"

Instantly they arrived, the silence in the air cut them all like a dull rusty knife, making everyone feel unclean.

"I don't like this" Danielle said under her breath. In front of them was a large wooden gate riddled with decay and moss.

The group stepped out of the speeder and advanced inward. Opening the gate, spores flew from the gate, invading their lungs for a brief moment. Coughing furiously, the group did their best to regain normal breathing. When they finally did, they were rewarded with the silhouette of the largest mansion they had ever seen. Lighting struck an old tree on the side of the path, exploding it entirely and briefly illuminating the mansion. What they saw in that moment was a decrepit old building with pieces of the structure missing in almost every other place.

This building was old and time had not treated it well. The mansion itself seemed off, more than just the way it looked. The light from the lightning barely illuminated anything. It was as if the light had little effect on the materials this place was built out of. Stepping forward on the stone path felt wrong... it was as if Danny's body no longer felt grounded in reality. Was he going insane? The others felt it too but for now, they followed Danny in hope that this would soon be over. Passing the remains of the exploded tree, they saw a purple flame illuminate the tree's resting place. Making it to the front door, Danny was about to phase through it when the only gust of wind they had felt since they had arrived burst the door open like a piece of paper in a hurricane.

They looked through the door. The inside was dark and empty.

Stepping into the main hallway, the air was stale and musty. Rot and decay filled every inch of this place.

"This feels wrong. I really think we should leave while we can." Tucker remarked.

Danny tried to raise morale. "We have made it this far you guys we should at least keep going a little further." Looking forward, the group saw a large staircase leading to the next story.

They walked up the steps to the next level, which somehow was even worse than the one before.

"Whelp! What're you doing here?" They all turned to find Skulker standing there. When their eyes locked onto the hunter, they froze. His...body armor was worn, with barely any nuts or bolts to hold it together. The free blazing mane that was typically on his head was merely sparks now. He looked beaten and broken. It was very clear that the hunter had become the hunted.

"I could ask you the same thing." Danny said, smirking beside himself.

"He wanted me to be his 'right-hand man,' When he really wanted to control me, Skulker doesn't _do_ control."

Rolling his eyes, Danny continued, "How can I know you're not lying to us to keep us away from your new master?"

"You fool! I have been here for a month trying to escape and I'm one of the lucky ones! The UGA has been here for almost half a year trying to get any info. The only thing they did get was a place on their new master's dusty shelf."

"Ha!" Tucker yelled, "I knew the president was hiding something!"

"Yeah that's great Tuck," Danny remarked, "He was hiding that not only does he have no control over this but he lost literally everyone he has ever sent in. I'm starting to realize that you all were right in not wanting to stay here. Perhaps we should look for that exit."

"Ha! Whelp! That's what I have been trying to tell you. No matter how little you are away from the main entrance it will always elude you...no matter how long you search. The rooms, this hallway, haven't you noticed something off, young halfas?"

Danny and Danielle looked at their surroundings to see paintings and vases littering the hallway.

"You fools! The paintings, it's the paintings!" Skulker shouted.

Danny and Danielle flew closer to the painting closer to them only to see something truly horrific. Inside of the painting were faded images of Danny and Danielle lost in the hallways of this mansion.

"What the hell!" Danny yelled."It's a painting of us, or at least it's starting to look like us. Explain Skulker! Explain!"

"You see, the problem with the ghost zone is you never truly know what a simple object is and who is a fellow ghost. The reason you saw yourselves in those paintings is that the mansion now knows of your presence. It knows what you look like and now that it knows it will never let you leave."

Danny thought that Skulker had to have been lying so he flew back the way he came as fast as he could, but when he reached the end of the hallway, instead of seeing the staircase he saw in the distance the group he just left all standing in the exact same places they were moments ago. Danny returned to the group only to have Skulker look at him with a grim smile.

"See ghost boy, I tell you the truth!"

"I guess Skulker right," Danny conceded. "I guess we also have no other choice but to move forward."

Skulker looked concerned. "I may not like it, but it's better than being alone for another month and a half."

With that, the group moved forward, the only light they had coming from the glowing of plasma from Skulker and the two young halfas.

* * *

Finally, after hours of walking they reached the main entrance and saw the door they first entered in closed shut. It may not have been a victory seeing as they weren't able to find nor rescue any ghost, but at least they could go back to Fenton Works and get the reinforcements they now clearly needed.

Walking towards the door, Danny gave out a slight chuckle. "See Skulker, what takes you a month takes us mere hours. Some hunter you are."

Skulker shrugged it off.

"I care not at this point what you think of me. I am just grateful that you four have granted me my freedom. Isn't that right...Master!?"

The doors they assumed to be the main entrance opened up to reveal even more darkness. Within that darkness shot out hundreds of black tendrils, wrapping themselves around everyone in the group.

Meanwhile Skulker walked freely into the dark room with pride in each footstep. :"Here they are for you, my Master. The only thing missing is the silver platter underneath them. I held up my half of the bargain, now you do yours."

A loud gravelly laugh filled the dark spacious room.

"Thank you, my child, I shall give you the reward you so desperately desire."

On that note, more dark tendrils rose from the ground and surrounded Skulker's being, encasing him in pure darkness. Skulker screamed in pain as the darkness reached his face, consuming him entirely. The tendrils then retracted back into the ground, leaving Skulker's figure encased perfectly in black amber solid as a rock.

Tangled in a sea of darkness, Danny saw the room light up as all the torches in the room ignited in purple flames. The room illuminated to reveal the largest dining table they had ever seen. At the head of it was a black and gold throne, twice the size of the other chairs around the table.

"Now that the unpleasantries are done with I can finally talk to you, my dear. Please, take a seat." Upon hearing the command, the tendrils surrounding each person dragged their bodies to chairs close to the dark throne.

"What is it that you want with us? Who are you?" Danny yelled.

A shadow covered young Danny's mouth and then the mouths of both Sam and Tucker.

"Shh, quiet now children. I will give you this however... my name is Shadow Master.

"How original," Danny managed before the shadow completely covered his mouth.

"I am not interested in the opinion of lessers. Now Danielle, you, on the other hand, may speak to me."

"What do you want from me?" The air surrounding Danielle was sour as though invisible eyes looked at her with an unfriendly smile.

"My dear, I simply wish to offer you a choice. Now, I have been watching you for quite some time. In fact, I have known you ever since you crawled out of the ooze and into that harsh reality that kicked you around for so long. I offer you a better life by my side. You are _unique_ , something _special_ , something worth my _effort_. With you, I have a chance at finally converting others into my kind and you would be the queen of an all-new breed of people."

"I have a life, my family, my father; they have done so much for me. You cannot tell me that you can offer better."

"But my dear I can, soon they will show what failures they are. I have seen it. All the times they came so close to harming the ones they love. My darling, it's only a matter of time before they hurt you too. And then where would you wind up...? I know: back in the loving arms of Daddy Vlad."

Emitting a ghostly wail that broke the grip of the shadow around him, Danny yelled:

" _He is not her father_!"

Shadows swirled around every corner of the room ready to pounce. Right before he was able to blast every last shadow that was in his view, something in Danny's pocket began to shake and feel cold to the touch. He reached into his pocket and pulls out the Infi-map that was completely ice cold. The map shook violently out of Danny's hand and landed on the ground fully unraveled. They all heard a large growl coming from the map. Suddenly a bright light flash came from the map, and from that light two glowing green orbs flew into the room. Danielle blinked to see the green orbs transform into the giant wolf she saw not so long ago. Riding that wolf was the ever joyful Frostbite waving around a gigantic frozen axe. Dancing around the room, Frostbite and the wolf joined Danny in severing the black tendrils to free their friends.

"Quickly!" Frostbite yelled, "Everybody, grab my hand! We must leave!" Sam grabbed Tucker and Tucker, Danielle. Danny still airborne swooped down to help connect the chain of people. He reached Sam and with his free hand grabbed Frostbite. "Good, now everyone make for the Infi-map! We still have..."

Frostbite was interrupted by the bloodcurdling scream of Danielle. Looking back everyone could see black claws deeply dug into Danielle's right shoulder. "He's holding me back. I can't move. Just go without me!" Danielle pleaded.

"Like hell any of us are leaving you behind!" Danny, using all of his might emitted another ghostly wail.

" _Ah!_ " Danielle screamed in pain once again. Free of his grip, the group flew into the Infi-map. The map disappeared and the gigantic room returned to darkness once more.

Instantaneously the group arrived at the Far Frozen, the Infi-map arriving moments later. Everyone took a moment to catch their breath but when Sam looked at Danielle she saw her shaking uncontrollably.

"Get us a blanket quickly!" Sam yelled. She moves closer to Danielle hugging her for just a moment before Dani squirmed in pain. Sam withdrew her arms to see them covered in hot red liquid. Sam turned Danielle around to see four deep claw marks, each bleeding a fair amount.

"Medic! We need a medic!"

Almost instantly Frostbite returned with two other ghosts. Using their combined power they tried healing her wounds. It worked but the marks remained as bright pink scars. Frostbite and the medical ghosts walk over to Sam and Danny. "She is in stable condition but you will have to watch over her for a while. The scars I am afraid are permanent. She will be ok but at this moment I believe she is still in shock."

"Thank you Frostbite," Sam said. "Tucker can you please go to Danielle, I need to talk to Danny _alone_."

"Sam I'm sorry," Danny said downcast, rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't know what we were..."

Without warning, Danny's cheek was on fire. Looking up, he saw Sam rubbing her now sore hand.

"That is our daughter Danny! Our daughter and you just threw everyone we love, including her into a situation we had no control over. So you're damn right you're sorry."

The travel home was quick but quiet. Upon reentering the Fenton portal, they saw Valerie, Jack, and Maddie with arms crossed waiting for their return.

Upon seeing Danielle hunched over, Jack ran over and picked up Dani as carefully as he could. The room was silent for a time until Danielle broke down in tears. Sam, Maddie, and Valerie joined Jack and Danielle for a group hug while Danny watched silently in the corner pondering on the day's events and how _he_ was responsible.

He was the reason his own daughter was hurt.

* * *

 **A/N: So there it is! Thanks again to my wonderful beta reader** **silente faery! Until next time!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14! I Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Butch Hartman does. Also there is a slight a trigger warning. This chapter does deal with abusive situations in a very real matter. I'll have the entire thing italicized, so if you don't want to see read it, you can just skip over the part. You have been warned. that being said please enjoy.**

* * *

She had been locked away in her room for hours. Refusing to come out of her room, Danny couldn't fathom what to do. The guilt that had been building up inside felt like it was going to explode.

 _My fault._

 _My fault._

 _Stupid._

The words rolled around in his head like a tidal wave and he couldn't shut them up, not that he deserved to. It was his fault and that wasn't going to change.

"It's what you do about it will make the difference, little brother." Jazz had said over video chat.

She was right, he knew that.

It didn't make the pain fade any.

* * *

Every crop top was sewed all over the floor in shreds. She didn't want to look at them. They littered her room like an infectious disease. She didn't want to see anything that could expose the small of her back.

The scar covered her whole back, leaving not a trace to forget.

Danielle just looked out her window. Curled on her bed, her sobs long since subsided, she was pretty sure she had run out of tears. Her throat was tight and dry, her eyes heavy with sleep with all the crying she had done earlier.

Her back still burned; one movement felt like oil set fire to it. It was healed, but Frostbite had said the pain would still last a few days. Her whole body ached, honestly. She just wanted to lay here and waste away.

A knock on the door brought her from her thoughts. She didn't turn to see who it was though.

"Can... I talk to you, Dani?" She didn't answer, just letting the silence surround them.

Danny sighed but made his way over to sit on the bed. "I'm really sorry Danielle. I wasn't thinking straight, and I let my judgment get the better of me. I won't let it happen again. I promise."

She went to slowly sit up; mindful of her back.

"You honestly think you could protect me if something like this happens again?" Her eyes went to meet his.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he replied, "I...I'm gonna try my hardest Dani. I'll do everything in my power." Suddenly he saw anger flash in his her eyes. Her body almost started to shake.

"Don't you get it?" Her voice started to rise, tears once again filling her eyes. "I'm not savable. You can't protect me! No one can. I traveled alone for two years for a reason. I can only rely on myself." She ran to the other side of the room, her back protesting, to put some distance between them.

"I can tr-"

"No!" Anger was radiating off of her now. "I'm worthless, A lab rat! Ghost, human, it doesn't matter. I'll always be hunted because I wasn't born! I was _made_." She spit the word out.

Her face was becoming red as her voice got higher with every word that left her mouth. Her tears were now spilling over. Her fingers were formed into a fist so tight that dents from her fingernails would be there for a while.

Not knowing what to do, he tried to continue," You're not worth-"

She interrupted once again, "Yes I am. I was someone's experiment to be thrown away after her use was served." Her voice started to fail her." You just decided to mess with fate." Her voice was nothing but a scratchy whisper now.

There was a heavy silence as she sunk to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. "Go. Please."

Not knowing what to do, he took his leave. Before closing the door, he looked back to the helpless girl.

"You're not a lab rat. People do love you, Danielle, and we can protect you." With that, he closes the door, leaving Dani in the dark.

Pulling out a video that she had kept, she popped it into the laptop Tucker had bought her, even though she had insisted he didn't. Pressing play, the screen came to life.

 _"Standard position Danielle, It's time for today's training. Now attack!"_

 _A young girl with raven black hair stood there still on screen not sure of what to do._

 _"Well, child? What are you waiting for?!"_

 _The child held her hands behind her back. "I don't want to attack you, you're my dadd..._

 _In a single moment, the young girl was on the ground rubbing her throbbing red cheek._

 _"Don't you dare call me that word! You have not earned that right yet! Now, get up you brat! Get up and fight!"_

 _The girl shook as she gained her footing._

 _"Why are you hurting me?"_

 _"Because life is pain and if you want to survive unlike the other failures you will have to be strong. Now fight." With that Vlad shot a bolt of plasma at the girl._

 _The girl cried out in pain as the bolt hit her lower leg. Danielle stumbled about for a moment but caught herself on a nearby desk._

 _"If you are not going to fight me you can at least try to dodge!" Not a moment later, Vlad shot another two plasma blast at the girl, neither missing their target, knocking her to her knees._

 _Green liquid started to ooze from her body, her legs becoming unstable as the liquid replaced solid legs._

 _"Please stop, I don't like this."_

 _"This is life. You think I had it as easy as you. I had to work for all this my entire life! You should count yourself lucky to even be in my presence. Now get up and fight!"_

 _Dashing forward, Vlad picked up the young girl and threw her across the room._

 _"I'm growing tired of this child! Now I'm angry. No more games. Either you fight back or this next blast is going to be your last."_

 _Floating near the ceiling, Vlad placed his hands together, aiming them at the girl._

 _"NOW FIGHT!"_

 _The girl looked up as green light filled the room._

 _"Please!" She cried._

 _Raising her hands in desperation, she attempted to block the blast of energy but was soon overtaken by it. The video faded to white as the only sound was the sound of screaming. The light dimmed to reveal a young Danielle with tattered white hair and dim glowing green eyes. Taking a deep breath, she fell to the ground unconscious._

 _Vlad floats up and looked directly into the camera._

 _"The clone Danielle is a resounding success. She finally was able to access her ghost side."_

Slamming the laptop shut, Danielle didn't even think about transforming into her ghost form, she just did and flew out the window, and just soared. She let the wind guide her, not knowing where she was going, just to clear her mind.

 _Why am I here? Why do I exist? I'm just a burden. A mess that no one will clean up. No one can protect me; I'm a danger to society._

Danielle could slowly feel the anger build up inside her, bubbling more so every thought that passes through her head.

She neared the Nasty Burger when she decided to land. Back in her human form, Dani knew everyone would get worried about her. Quickly pulling out her phone, she sent a quick text to Sam informing her that she needed to take a walk and she'd be back by curfew.

Putting one foot in front the other, she couldn't stop the words that were once again boiling in her head:

Abomination.

Lab rat.

Worthless.

Trash.

Over and over again they played in a timeless loop. Her emotions were coming to a head as she went to sit behind the Nasty Burger.

She fell to her knees as the tears unraveled. She just screamed aimlessly into the thin air. Pounding her fist into the ground, Danielle didn't care about the blood on her knuckles.

Abomination.

Lab rat.

Worthless.

Trash.

Harder, she hit the rubble of the ground. Faster her fists went. Her heart was pounding to the beat of her fist. It drowned everything out to her ears.

Abomination.

Lab rat.

Worthless.

Trash.

"What are you doing!?" The voice broke through of the sound of her own erratic heartbeat. Coming back to her senses, she could see blood coming out of scattered cuts on her hands.

She looked up to see the last person that she'd ever see:

Pamela Manson.

Great, just the shit topping on a horrible day.

"What do you want?" She spit the words like venom.

The older woman was quiet for a moment before she spoke. "I heard screaming while I was walking past and I got worried. What are you doing out here like this? Shouldn't you be...?" She swallowed, "By Sam?"

She just shook her head as she pulled her knees to her and buried her head in them. She heard high heels tap against the gravel as she approached Danielle.

"Why are you crying, did something happen?" Danielle's head snapped up in confusion. "Why do you care, I'm trash, remember?" Averting her eyes, the older woman didn't say anything, just taking a seat next to her.

"Be careful," Danielle hissed through her teeth, "You might dirty your dress."

Palma ignored the young girl's insults and just stared off into the distance.

"You know," The older woman broke in, "I always had this picture in my head. Perfect family: Perfect husband, and perfect daughter. Life had other plans though." She gave a dry laugh.

"My daughter is the very opposite of what I wanted, and I know I don't show it, but I love her with my whole being. I'd give my life to ensure she was safe."

"Why are you telling me this?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I honestly don't know. Maybe because I feel guilty. Guilt at what I've done over the years, what I've put her through all these years for my selfish vendetta. It's my fault that she feels the way she does towards us."

Danielle didn't know what compelled her to let everything tumble out of her mouth, but it did. She told Pamela about Vlad, how he created her, everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. She told her how helpless and hopeless she was.

How lost she truly felt in such a big world.

Soon enough the words faded from her tongue, and she didn't know which of them went first, but before she could blink, she was in the arms of Pamela Manson. _I guess confession is good for the soul_.

"I know this probably doesn't mean much," Pamela muttered against her hair, "But what... your dad did; he's beating himself over it more than anyone could know. He's still learning.

I'll let you in on a little secret, the biggest fear of being a parent is that we won't be able to protect our kids, and when that happens, because it will, no matter how hard you try, and when it does happen, it breaks you inside.

Parents aren't perfect, we make mistakes, no matter how good intentions are, no matter what 'learning' we've had prior to having kids, or lack thereof in their case, no one is perfect.

I saw my Sammy defend you. That was a mother defending her child that she loves, Danny, he's learning along with her, and he loves you. At the end of the day, I think that's what matters, right?"

They finally pulled away from their embrace. "I'm really sorry for what I had said to about you before. You are not trash, and I'll do everything to prove it to you."

Wiping away her tears, Danielle gave her a small smile. "Thanks, Mrs. Manson."

"If you would like, and I understand if you don't, I wouldn't mind if you called me nana."

Shock filled Danielle for a moment before she flung herself into the older woman. "Of course Nana."

"How about we get you home and get that cleaned up. Everyone's probably worried sick about you."

Danielle agreed and got up to follow; Pamela put an arm around the young halfa to support her while they made their way back to Fenton Works.

Sam and Danny were the first to run out, followed by the rest.

"Where the hell have you been Danielle! Your dad and I have been trying to contact you for the better part of half an hour. We've been worried sick! And what happened to your hands!?"

"I'm sorry Sa-" Before she was able to get her apology out, Sam interrupted when she notices her own mom.

"What are you doing here?"

"I found her. We talked, and I brought her back here."

"Sam, don't worry, nana apologized."

Sam's eyes glanced between her mom and Danielle, suspicion lurking in eyes.

"Nana!? Since when are you the maternal type?"

"Since I've realized how horrible I've been. To everyone." Sam scoffed.

"I don't buy it. We'll talk later. For now, we have to worry about Dani. If you want to come in, take it up with Jack and Maddie." They all made their way into Fenton Works.

"Tuck, get the medical equipment. Meet us upstairs." Before they could make it to the first step, Danny could tell Danielle was becoming tired.

"Screw this." Taking Danielle by the waist, he gently threw her over his shoulder, as to not have any movement on her back."Definitely grandpa's kid." He heard her murmur against him.

She was soon laid carefully on her bed, while Sam took care of her hands. Everyone was gathered by her bed.

"We saw the video, Danielle." The air was thick, heavy. Sam was wrapping her hands so delicately. Danielle could tell she was holding back anger.

"If that bastard," She noticed Sam start to shake slightly, "Ever comes back down to earth, I'll punch him so hard, he'll be right back up there. Without a helmet."

She gave a slight chuckle at Sam's threat.

"Now what happened to your hands?" Sam asked.

"I _may_ have been upset and started punching the ground behind the Nasty Burger."

Sam's eyes flared up in anger at the confession. Sam just bit her tongue for the moment.

She noticed her dad standing in a corner of her room, arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the wall for assistance.

"I'm sorry." She motioned with her head for him to join him. He did so, taking a seat next to her.

After she was bandaged, Maddie spoke up. "I think it's been a crazy day. It's getting late, and you still have school tomorrow if you're up for it." She nodded. Everyone started to file out of the room, giving Danielle a hug or kiss, telling her goodnight.

Just as Danny and Sam started to make their way out, Danielle said, "Dad, could you stay here for a bit. Maybe lay here until I fall asleep?" He smiled.

"Sure." He made his way back over to the bed, lying down next to the girl. She snuggled up against him. "It's not your fault, you're gonna make mistakes. I love you daddy. You are the best dad I could've asked for." That seemed to soothe the older teen. He settled into the bed, and within moments Dani was asleep.

He looked over to Sam, who was looking upon them, smiling. She went over to kiss Danielle lightly on the cheek as to not wake her, tucking her in. She then gave Danny a light kiss on the lips.

"I'm sorry about the slap. While I don't regret it, I still didn't like it."

He smiled lightly at her. "Don't worry, trust me, I understand why you did."

Giving him another kiss goodnight, she stood up straight, giving a sigh. "I guess I gotta talk to my parents. Meet up at school tomorrow?" He gave a nod, and she was out the door.

Looking down at the lightly snoring girl, he still felt guilty; he couldn't protect her. One of the two most important people in his life, and that would probably haunt him the rest of his days.

But she forgave him.

That was a start.

* * *

 **A/N: Shout Out to my wonderful beta reader,** **silente faery! Thanks for your help!**

 **Please read and review! Until next time! 3**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15! I'm so excited for this chapter, you'll see why. That's all I got to say about it. Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Butch Hartman does. (and apparently, seeing as he's the creator, it's young, not yo. I feel lied to) lol. Hello, Author's Hubby here. If you would like to see Danielle's Outfit from today's chapter please visit my DA Page in the link below. Thank you for all the support you have been giving us. You guys are awesome. Hubby OUT! art/Danny-Phantom-Family-Ties-Dani-s-First-Date-727923378**

* * *

It's ridiculous, actually, how it happened. It was fourth-period history, Friday, and Sam's only class alone. Dani and Danny were in English Lit., Tucker in biology, and Valerie in chemistry.

Basically, it sucked.

Sam started doodling little ideas for Danielle's costume still trying to figure it out, seeing as Danny was still against the idea of a crop top that showed her complete midriff.

Out of nowhere, the nurse came bursting in. "Lancer, I need the info on a student, she's hurt." Everyone's attention was drawn to the panicking nurse.

"Who's the student?"

"Danielle Fenton."

Sam's heart dropped as she heard the name. She leapt from her seat and rushed to the nurse.

"What happened to her, is she okay? She's going to be okay, right?" Her words were in a rushed mumble almost, and she knew that the students were giving her odd glances; this was Danny's _cousin_ , even though she was dating Danny, why would she freak out like this?

However, Sam didn't care, didn't give a damn really.

"I'm sorry Ms. Manson, but I can only give this information out to next of kin."

For reasons unknown to the goth, she just didn't care about the cover up, her daughter was hurt.

"I'm her mom!" The words echoed throughout the classroom, everyone gasping. Sam just ignored everyone. She turned her attention to Lancer to back up her claim. He nodded in agreement.

"It's a long story, but just trust me on this, they have the proof. Daniel and Samantha are Danielle's parents. Go."

She didn't even hesitate; she sprinted towards the nurse's office, yelling over her shoulder to let Danny in immediately.

She saw the young girl sitting on a cot, looking mindlessly around the office. Her sharp, crystal eyes were moving from side to side until she spotted Sam.

Sam immediately ran up to her and started to inspect her.

"Are you hurt?" Hands were brushing over her arms, looking for any signs of injuries.

"Sam-"

"What happened?" She checked over her head, but found nothing yet again.

"I promise Sa-"

"Are you sick?" On her back was nothing but the pink lines littered on her back from the trip into the Ghost Zone.

"Sam!-"

"Danny and I will take you to the ER."

"Mom!"

Everything froze for a few moments, before they break out in laughter at the anti-climatic way that she finally says the word after so many months. Finally, Danielle spoke up.

"It's just a sprained ankle."

While that did make her feel better, it didn't stop her from bringing her into a hug, tightly clutching Danielle to her chest. "I love you." was whispered several times over.

A weight was lifted off their chest.

They both were finally ready for that title.

* * *

Danielle could feel the stares of her fellow classmates boring into her back. Ever since her mom had announced that she and Danny were Dani's parents to the class, the rumors were spreading throughout the entire school.

"Hey, Fenton!" Both Dani and Danny groaned as they heard their favorite person come trotting towards them. While he wasn't the bully anymore, neither Fenton was looking forward to the questions.

"So, how'd this," He motioned between him, Dani, and Sam, "Happen?"

"It's a long story Dash," Danny said. "We'll explain later, we have lunch to get to." Grabbing Sam and Danielle by their wrists, he ran towards the cafeteria to get to his friends.

Danielle tried to ignore the obvious stares behind her back. Keyword was 'tried'. However, ten minutes into lunch she couldn't take it anymore. She just wanted to enjoy her lunch.

Moving her trays away, she jumped on the table, and whistled to make sure all eyes were on her, not that wasn't in the first place.

"Okay, listen up, and listen up good! I'm only going to tell this once!"

"Yes, I'm fourteen, but I've only been alive for two years. Vlad Masters made me using my parents DNA, thinking he had made a clone, which is why I'm my age, he actually made a child, through artificial insemination. So there's the truth, that's why I'm half ghost 'cause I'm a part of Danny. Understand?"

The whole lunchroom nodded in agreement.

"And if anyone," She looked straight at Paulina, "Talks bad about my parents, their relationship, or my mom, I'll personally introduce you to Vlad Masters."

* * *

The bell was about to ring, signaling the last day before winter break began and Danielle would be going home to finally see Aunt Jazz. Her parents were holding back laughter from her obvious excitement, while Tucker was looking straight forward, bored.

Fifteen more minutes.

"Psst. Psttt." Bringing Danielle out of her thoughts, she saw a classmate had sat next to her, trying to get her attention. Raising her eyebrow, she whispered back, "What?"

"You're Danielle Fenton, right?" She gave a quick nod. "I was wondering if you'd want to go on a date this Saturday?"

"Sure?" The redhead smiled. From the red letterman jacket he wore, she suspected he was a jock.

"Great. I'm Asher by the way. I'll pick you up at seven. I already know where Fenton Works is."

She had a date!

 _Wait, what's a date?_

* * *

"Absolutely not!" Her dad all but screeched once they were home."You are not allowed to date until... until you're thirty!"

Mom and Aunt Jazz had explained what a date was, and much to Danielle's delight, it sounded like fun.

"Come on Danny, she needs to experience what a date is, maybe she'll find love."

"See, mom agrees!"

"I'm on Danny's side here guys," Tucker said alongside Danny. "We know almost nothing about him. I just don't have a good feeling about this." His stomach had been flip-flopping ever since she had told them that she had a date.

"Clueless." Her mom yet again coughed into her fist. Tucker just glared at Sam.

"I agree with your dad here princess. Does he like fudge?"

"I'm not sure yet gramps."

"You can always tell what kinda man someone is by the type of fudge he eats."

It seemed the house was divided. The girls were on Danielle's side, saying that it was an innocent first date, and that as long as she had her phone on her at all times and minded her curfew, that there shouldn't be a problem.

Whereas the boys, except papa Manson who was on the fence, thought she was just too young and naive to go on a date yet.

"Come on, it's just an innocent date Daniel, she'll have her phone on her at all times, isn't that right young lady?" Nana then chimed in from the kitchen.

"Exactly! Please daddy?" Clasping her hands together, she gives him the cutest pout he had ever seen. It reminded him so much of Sam that he almost melted.

"Fine. One minute passes nine o'clock and someone's gonna have to post my bail."

"Yes!" Giving both parents a kiss on the cheek, she went to grab her aunt's wrist. "Come one, this is the one time I'm okay with picking out a dress. Let's go before it fades."

They were headed towards the door when nana came running out of the kitchen. "Wait for me! I'm not missing your first dress shopping."

"Don't forget you have training Sunday Danielle!" Danny called out. "We're making sure everyone's at their best when we confront this ghost again." He sighed, knowing his words fell on deaf ears as the front door shut behind them.

* * *

Arriving at the dress store, the four of them started looking around to see what dress would best suit the young lady that was Danielle Fenton, who was now giddy with excitement. Sam smiled thinking about how much Danny and Tucker would be squirming the entire time they were gone. 'Serves them right' Sam thought with a smile.

"Now I'm thinking something like a cute sundress." Sam's mother was clearly excited. "Now I know it's winter but we will make sure you stay nice and toasty till you get there."

"Maybe it can come in black too..." Sam added. Silence, dead silence.

"No just me?" Sam looked away in slight embarrassment.

"Well, I think if we choose a yellow sundress a thick black belt would really compliment the dress and Danielle's natural hair color. What would you refer to that as honey... raven?"

Sam could tell her mother was trying and while it enraged her she couldn't help but smile at her attempt.

Dani smiled looking at Sam. Something was different about her. She seemed slightly calmer than usual. Yeah, she could tell how Nana embarrassed her but the look on her face didn't seem like the normal anger she had held for Nana.

Secretly Dani wondered that if Nana didn't meet her behind the nasty burger if Sam would even be ok with Danielle calling her Mom. Whatever was going on, Dani just was happy that her crazy world could have quiet moments like this.

"Come on," Jazz said, snatching Danielle's hand. "We think we found _the_ outfit."

Danielle took a deep breath as everyone outside her dressing room cheered her on. She stepped out, her chest held high. The cheering crowd was silenced.

"Nope! I am sixteen years old. I am too young to feel like this Jazz, Pamela take it away!"

Jazz and Pamela smiled, deeply hugging Sam.

"I know sweetie. I know," whispered Pamela as she rubbed Sam's arm.

Danielle stood wearing a cute yellow sundress, a thick black belt, and her black leggings underneath and as always her red and white covers.

It was something so simple, yet at this moment there were no scars on her back as she saw her Aunt and Nana hugging her crying mother.

A single tear fell down her face.

 _So this is family._

* * *

 **A/N: So I know this isn't any big battle to defeat the ghost yet, and I know your probably wondering when that'll happen, but trust me, it will. They just got their asses handed to them, and they need to regroup. Physically, emotionally, and mentally. Danny now sees that Danielle needs a lot of training, and with help this time, he will do that.**

 **Secondly, they need to have good moments within bad times, because that's what life's about, taking the good with the bad, and Dani' learning just that. She's gonna enjoy life, even when it pushes her down.**

 **Finally, I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LONG A/N, Someone had said that while Danielle forgave Danny, that she still may resent him for what happened, and while there may be a time or two there it'll creep into her head, I don't think she'll really resent him. He's not Vlad, he's a sixteen-year-old boy that honestly, doesn't know what the hell he's doing. But he's getting there, and she's gonna start to see that and understand that he's doing the best with the cards that he's been dealt with. Okay, enough of me talking**

 **SHOUT OUT TO MY AMAZING BETA READER, SILENTE FAERY**

 **CAUSE THEY PUT UP WITH MY GRAMMAR AND SHIZ. THANK YOU! 3 (I may have a had a cup of coffee or two, please ignore me)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter sixteen! I can't believe the amazing support from you guys for this story, I truly appreciate it! Without further ado, enjoy! Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, Butch Hartman does.**

* * *

Danny had been pacing back and forth for half an hour now. It was five minutes to seven and Sam was getting annoyed.

"Danny, will you please stop pacing?" Sam demanded. "She'll be fine, it's her first date!" This did nothing to dull the sixteen-year old's movements.

"Exactly, and we know nothing about this guy except that he runs with Dash's group. Not even a year ago they were stuffing us into lockers and beating us up. The only reason they don't do that anymore is because we saved the freaking world and they know my other identity. Would this guy even be interested if she wasn't half ghost?"

The goth was about to try to calm the worried teen when the doorbell rang.

"Danielle will be fine." She said brushing her hand briefly on Danny's shoulder as she passed to answer the door. Standing at the door was a six-foot-two tall jock with flaming red hair, chiseled features, and chocolate brown eyes. He seemed cute enough. "Hi, I'm Sam."

He seemed to ponder something, "Danielle's... mom...correct?" He sounded nervous, unsure of how to handle the situation. He brought a slightly shaky hand up in a greeting, but she just brushed it off.

"I'm not thirty Asher, it is Asher right?" He gave a nod. "I'm just a year ahead of you. Pretty sure this doesn't have to be a formal greeting." He averted his eyes to his feet, trying to hide his embarrassment.

Danny came up behind her suddenly, and she decided it was time to call Danielle down. "Don't be too harsh," She whispered as she moved to the stairs.

They just stood there for a moment, the air thick with tension. Danny's arms were crossed over his chest, his eyes drawn into a sinister glare and his mouth set in a deep frown.

While Asher tried to keep his manners by standing up straight, he was not able to avoid the halfa's eyes. 'Why did this have to be so damn awkward?'

There was just a standoff until finally, Danny spoke up. "Her curfew is nine. If she's back a minute later, you'll have a very unfriendly ghost to deal with. Oh, and FYI my family has a state-of-the-art GPS device that can track you wherever you are, so if you are not where you say you're going to be we will know. Got it, Football brain?"

Stuttering, the poor boy felt the blood rushing to his cheeks. He gave a nod to show that he understood.

From somewhere within Fenton Works he heard someone call out, "And if she's returned in any less perfect condition, _you'll_ be the one serving jail time." Asher was pretty sure that was the mayor's voice. 'Tucker, was it?'

For what felt like an eternity later, Danielle appeared at the door. Asher's mouth slightly dropped. She was wearing a yellow sundress that cut off just above the knees, black leggings, her usual converse and a nice black belt that matched her hair color.

Her hair was out of its signature ponytail, falling in loose curls onto her shoulders thanks to aunts hand skills with a curling iron. She wore very light makeup, hardly noticeable except for the purple lipstick that graced her lips.

"Dad, don't scare him away." She chided softly. Pressing a kiss to her dad's check and grabbing her cream color coat, she said "I love you," and headed to Asher's car. His mom was the passenger seat, seeing as he couldn't drive alone until a year of having his temporary license.

Tucker came to the door as they stepped off the porch. "Don't forget, she's half ghost. She's fought scarier things than you!"

He wasn't jealous.

Not in the tiniest bit.

* * *

The drive to the restaurant was kinda awkward in Danielle's opinion, but mom and Aunt Jazz said this might happen on a first date, so she just gave him the benefit of the doubt. Having his mom in the car was probably another factor in the awkwardness.

They soon arrived at a pretty expensive place. Asher, ever the gentleman, went to open her door. While Danielle knew she could handle herself, she appreciated the effort the boy was putting in.

Once seated, they looked over the menu and discussed what they wanted.

'This is nice,' Dani thought. _Sorta comfortable when it wasn't awkward, but it feels like something's missing. I don't know what though._

Shrugging off the thought, Danielle decided to ignore the feeling and picked out what she wanted to order. The waiter arrived and Danielle ordered a steak well done with a Pepsi, while Asher just ordered spaghetti and water.

"Can I take your coat?" he asked, as he moved to come near her.

"Um, no. I'm actually cold. I'm good. Thank you." She clutched the coat, making sure it was still snuggled nicely on her body. _I'll never let anyone see those stupid scars._

Dani said, "So, tell me about yourself, you never did tell me your last name?" That was what mom said typically was done on dates: they'd ask each other questions about their lives to get to know each other.

 _Why can't I just be normal so I would know what to do?_

"Well, my last name is Lunette. I'm a sophomore, I'm fifteen, and I've thought you were cute since the day you stepped into the school." He sent her a playful smile, and she couldn't help the blush that spread throughout her cheeks. She glanced down onto her lap to regain her composure.

"So tell me about you now."

"Well, I'm fourteen, technically two, but that's a way deeper conversation for later. My parents are two years older, Mom and my aunt call me a daddy's girl, and I'm pretty sure by what interaction that you got from him earlier, that was made apparent." She gave a slight chuckle at her dad's antics."I love rock and roll music, I fight ghost, half ghost myself, and I hate shopping in girly stores. I definitely inherited that from my mom, though I do have my dad's sense of style."

Their food arrived just as she finished her sentence. Digging in, she couldn't believe the salty, juicy taste of a steak. _Sorry, mom, I'm definitely not a vegan._

"So, what's ghost fighting like?" He asked her.

She chewed her food slowly as she started to think of the question. She honestly never thought about the feel of it. It was just something that to her was almost like breathing; it's something never thought about, she just did it.

"Well, um, depends on the ghost. Some are hard, like the Fright Knight, or Spectra, and then there are others, like the Box Ghost, that are just downright annoying. He never knows when to stop." Asher let out a small laugh.

"So what does it feel like to be half ghost?"

This made Danielle pause. Was this the only thing he wanted to talk about? Was that normal on a date to only talk about one thing?

"Well, I've never really thought about that either. It's just second nature to me. Like walking is for you. It's something I've known my whole life."

"Cool."

"Yeah, cool."

"So," She tried to break the silence that once again found them, "What's your favorite color?"

"Green, yours?"

"Blue, like the sky. I love space." His face scrunched up in distaste.

"I'm not a big fan of space."

Yeah, this wasn't cool.

* * *

The rest of dinner was quiet. She didn't even pay any mind to the tension in the air. She just finished her steak, paid half her bill as she insisted on and they went to take their leave.

It was a quick goodbye, knowing they weren't going on another date, and she rushed for the door. The moment she was through the threshold, she was bombarded with questions.

"It was nice, but we definitely aren't gonna go on another one," Dani said. "I think I'm gonna go change and go sit on the porch for a bit." She skipped up the steps as she heard disappointed sighs from everyone behind her.

Once dressed and outside, she just took a moment to look up at the stars, trying to relax her racing mind.

 _Will I find anyone that'll like me for being me?_

Danielle soon heard the door open and Tucker came walking out.

"Hey," He said as he took a seat next to her.

"Hey." She replied.

"I'm sorry about the floppy date. Was he rude to you or something?"

"No, that's the thing, he was really nice. A gentleman. We just didn't have a connection. He seemed to be really into the whole ghost part of me, and not my human side." She sighed as she placed her chin into her hand.

"Well, hey, it's his loss. There's so much more to you than just a ghost." That made her smile. "Thanks, Tuck." Scooting closer, she went to rest her head on his shoulder as they looked into the nighttime sky.

Yeah.

He was definitely not jealous.

From somewhere in the house, Tucker could've sworn he heard someone mutter, "Clueless."

* * *

 **SHOUT OUT TO MY AMAZING BETA READER, SILENTE FAERY! Until next time! (Sorry about the shortish chapter, the next one definitely won't be.)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17! Now we get to see some action, and how Danielle can really . Anyway, let's do this. Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Butch Hartman does.**

* * *

"Okay, it's Sunday everyone! Time to get up and start training!" Groans of annoyance could be heard throughout the entire household as Danny called out.

"Dad! It's seven in the morning, on the weekend. Can't we sleep in?" Dani whined. Footsteps could be heard as her grandma, grandpa and Auntie Jazz started getting ready for the day.

"Nope. We also have a surprise for you. But that's only if you get your lazy butt up." Turning from her side, she faced her dad, narrowing her blurry eyes in a sleepy haze of anger.

"Grandma says you were always a pain to wake up, guess I get that from you." Danny stuck his tongue out at his daughter's insult, which she returned.

"Your mom should be here any minute, along with Tucker and Valerie. I also think your other grandparents are coming, but I'm not sure."

Jazz's head suddenly poked through the doorway of Danielle's room. "Everyone just arrived, fair warning Danny; I think Sam's not too happy with getting up this early on a weekend."

Danny pointed to Jazz. "See? You get it from your mom, not me."

Sighing, Danielle got up, moved to her dresser to grab some clothes, and then made her way towards the bathroom.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Soon Danielle was running down the stairs, happy that at least everyone else had to suffer the same fate. If she had to go down, she wasn't going down alone.

Danielle looks to her mom, "Nana and Papa couldn't make it?"

"Nope. One of their investments had an emergency meeting, apparently, they struck oil or something. They had to take the jet down to Florida."

"Sometimes I forget," Jazz cut in, "You're technically filthy rich Danielle."

She just shrugged her shoulders. "Eh."

They all started to head down to the lab, ready for the day to begin.

Danielle was surprised to find Frostbite waiting patiently with Snowflake, his wolf, in the lab.

"Hey Frostbite, what are you doing here? Is there something to update us on?" She asked. He let out a good deep belly laugh.

"No child, your father asked me to help you train."

Danielle sent him a questioning glance, which Danny only shrugged in a response. "Thought we could use a ghost to help that has experience beyond what I have."

"Before we begin, I have something to give Danielle," Sam said. She placed her backpack on the floor, unzipped it, and rummaged through the contents until she found what she was looking for.

Pulling out what looked like to be new clothing, Sam handed Danielle her new outfit with all her motherly pride.

Danielle looked at the costume. It was an awesome crop top and some slick looking pants; they were shorter than normal, probably only meeting just past her knees, and had a green trim meeting at the end of the pants. The boots, however, were now longer, which provided enough cover for the rest of her legs.

The crop top colors, still swatches of black and white, were now reversed; underneath the black and white was a ring of ecto green, and the collar had a matching v shape that stopped just above her chest.

However cool looking it was, it would still show her imperfections. Her face sunk as it met her mothers. Sam could see the pain in her eyes as she set down the clothes and ran into the other room.

"I don't understand." Danny said to Sam. "I thought she would have loved it. It took forever for you to convince me to let her wear it."

Tucker stepped up. "Believe it or not, I think I need to talk to her." With that, the young mayor strutted forward and up the steps to meet Danielle.

When Tucker found Danielle she was on the same front porch they had been after her first date. Her legs clutched close to her chest, arms wrapped around them; chin resting on her knees.

"Hey there it's just me," Tucker said, making his presence known.

"Tuck, I think I just want to be alone for a bit, I hope you understand."

"I do," Tucker said, "But please just give me one second before you send me off, after that you're completely free, but please just one second."

"Go ahead," Danielle said in defeat.

"When Danny first got his powers, he was a mess. He didn't know how to control them and that lead to some pretty interesting things. However, the one thing he has never known about is this." Tucker grabbed the bottom left of his shirt, lifting it up to reveal a dark red scar covering most of his side.

"Danny didn't always have the best aim. I have never shown anyone this before, not even my parents. But I figured you needed to know that these things do happen, mostly by accident, but when they do it shouldn't change the way you feel about yourself. To this day, whenever we went to the beach I made up an excuse that it was a cooking accident.

Scars aren't something to be romanticized, but the thing is, you can't let them define you. You define who you are. That's what matters.

Scars or not, you are incredibly beautiful."

* * *

Sam and Danny were wondering what was taking so long. They headed upstairs to the front door, looking to through the window that was right next to it; where Sam let out a squeak like a little mouse. Danny quickly moved her out of the way to see Danielle kiss Tucker quickly on the cheek, forever losing Danny's future mayoral vote.

* * *

After getting dressed in her new costume she went to meet everyone back in the lab. She tried not to keep tugging the top down to cover her back, but she noticed her own hands involuntarily doing it every minute or so.

 _Let it go Danielle. Don't let them define you._ Taking a deep breath, Dani focused on what Frostbite was saying.

"Okay, first things first," Frostbite said. "We're going to start with offense, then defense, and then we'll work on your aim. From there we'll work with your speed, and duplication."

"Right," Dani said, feeling ready for anything.

"I was told that this was what the Great One trained with not long ago." He pushed a remote control button, causing a wide array of moving ghost targets – and one Jazz – to pop up.

Dani laughed. She heard an angry yell of "Hey," from Jazz.

"Of course, since then there have been a few upgrades to make it more _challenging._ "

"I'm ready!" She pumped her fists into the air for emphasis.

"Stage one, offense. Defeat the ghosts as quickly as possible within sixty seconds. Try your best to aim well, but it's of no consequence for this stage. Ready? Set? Go."

"Alright!" Dani changed into her ghost form, allowing her ecto-energy to embrace her. Her green eyes burning brightly, she flew around firing at targets left and right. Some would pop up behind her or swoop down from the ceiling, catching her off guard, while others – the Jazz head – were plain distracting. She had already fired at her twice; poor Jazz was missing an eye and a tooth. Some ghosts made noises, others didn't.

She had only taken down about thirty percent of the enemies before Frostbite called out, "And that's time."

"Aww…" Dani said. The defeated ghosts returned to their corners and new ghosts took their place.

"Still energetic I see. Alright, let's see how you handle stage two. The goal is not to attack but to use your energy to make a shield. Ghosts of all sizes will try to overwhelm you while you navigate the obstacle course." Pushing another button, glowing rings descended from the ceiling. "Do your best to last for sixty seconds, which will allow Jazz here," He pointed to the injured Jazz head, "to escape safely. Ready?"

Dani nodded.

"Go."

Defense was, surprisingly, harder for her than offense. Not only could she not fire at any of them, she had to continuously watch her back and the Jazz head's. Once she had successfully corralled the ghosts, she had to keep aggro while dodging their blows. _How Frostbite got these ghosts to shoot ecto-blasts beats me_. She managed to get through some of the hoops and lose a few ghosts, but some others who were too smart for their own good cornered her and blasted her out of the sky. She hit her back hard, causing her to muffle a cry of pain. She struggled to get up to get to Jazz head's side as the ghosts began to surround her once again. _Poor toothless Jazz, I'm comin'!_ Cornered on all sides, she could feel the sweat beading on her forehead as she panicked. _Come on, shield!_ She tried to form energy around her but it kept sputtering out. A large ghost loomed over them, getting ready to blast. All of a sudden, she was reminded of the shadow, the dining table, the throne. Feeling a strong sense of fear, she ended up making a green dome around her and the Jazz head, pushing the ghosts back ten feet.

"Time's up, Dani," she heard Frostbite say.

Breathing heavily, she let the shield dissipate as she struggled to regain her breath. She glanced at the Jazz head. Still intact. Even though this wasn't the real Jazz, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Very good, if I do say so myself," Frostbite nodded, offering Dani a hand, which she took.

"I'm ready for more," she managed.

"Mmm. Based on Stage one, I'd say your aim and speed aren't bad, though they could be improved. Now, duplication. What's your limit?"

"About three for now, although the third is still wonky." Dani said, sighing. The third one always looked like a wobbly play-doh person and she wasn't sure how to fix it.

"I'll tell you a little secret, which I'm sure your father will agree on. For duplication, and also aim for that matter, you need two key things: focus and belief.

You must focus; Each clone," Danielle can't help the laugh that escapes her mouth at the word clone, "is a part of you but also separate. You must consider the form and number of clones as you duplicate, or they will not form right.

Next, belief. You must believe that you can, that you are who you say you are. That you are able to be strong, that you are willing to fight for what matters to you."

"I…think I understand."

"Now, try closing your eyes. What do you see?"

Dani closed her eyes. There was a spot in her vision. "There's a light."

"A light you say? Imagine yourself closer, looking in. What is in that light?"

She furrowed her eyebrows, imagining herself flying towards it. She found herself in a warm room. "There's a room."

"A room. What is in this room."

She looked around her. It was so warm in here, it was like… "Everyone. My family. Grandma, Grandpa, Mom and Dad, Tucker…"

"Yes. These people are a part of you. You are not alone. You are strong. Picture them, Dani."

She pictured them, overflowing with the good times they shared.

"Now, try to duplicate."

She concentrated on five clones and felt energy escape from her. She looked up, surrounded by five Danis smiling back at her. She smiled back.

"Great job, Danielle. Excellent." Frostbite smiled, patting her on the back.

She wasn't going to give up, not as long as she had her family with her. She wasn't alone.

* * *

Hours later, and everyone was exhausted, especially Danielle. Everyone had helped out in training but what was most challenging was Aunt Jazz in the ecto-skeleton. She _really_ knew how to use that thing. It'd been hell. It made working with Valarie a walk in the park.

Now everyone was settling in for bed, Sam and Tucker decided to spend the night. The trio started setting up sleeping bags. Danny next to Sam, grandma made sure they knew they'd be down to check up on him; whatever that meant. She herself set up her sleeping bag close to Tucker's.

However, Danny seeing this, took the sleeping bag and moved it all the way on the other side of the room, not saying one word.

 _What's his problem?_

 _Oh well, no point on dwelling on it. Today was a good day, that's what matters._

* * *

 **Shout Out to my wonderful beta reader,** **silente faery! They wrote the training scene for Danielle, I'm not the best with fight scenes. Thank you so much!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18!, I don't have much to say except my husband decided to draw Sam's Christmas present from Danielle, so here's the link to that:**

 **art/Danny-Phantom-Family-Ties-Sam-s-Holiday-Present-728725349**

 **Please enjoy! Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, Butch Hartman does!**

* * *

A thought occurred to Danielle one late Wednesday night on December seventeenth. While light snow was sprinkling over the town, the nighttime air was crisp while cold air, cutting through heavy jackets, soaked their bodies with a spine-tingling chill. Her hair was dampened with melted snow, clinging to her face. Snow was lightly dusted onto the ground, becoming thicker with each flake that fell from the inky clear sky.

Danielle's cheeks were flushed from the cold. Her hands through covered with gloves were becoming almost frosty iced; she couldn't feel the tips of her toes, but she didn't care. It brought a thrill to the young girl's heart.

"Hey, Aunt Jazz?" she said, causing Jazz to look up from the snowball that she was compacting into a slight ball form. Aunt Jazz, mom, and dad had decided to show her the art of snowball fights. She now loved snowball fights.

Dani continued, "Why are you here for a week? I mean, I understand that winter is pretty cool and everything, but I don't get how school lets us out for an entire week just because of a season."

Color from the older girl's face just drained as her mouth dropped. She seemed to be frozen out of pure shock before she dropped the almost formed snowball and screamed, "We're so stupid. We didn't think to tell her, did we?" Both Sam and Danny shook their heads, shock clearly littered in their eyes. "Let's all go inside and we'll explain."

They entered the house to see Maddie and Jack playing a game of chess.

"What's going on?" Maddie asked Jazz.

"Did we ever think to mention to Danielle why this month, especially this upcoming week, is an important date?" Both scientists just stared mindlessly at Jazz.

Slapping a palm to her forehead, she practically yelled, "Christmas is coming up."

"Oh, fudge." Jack muttered, before Sam added, "Don't forget Hanukkah."

Jazz turned to her, mirth dancing in her eyes, "Well, apparently you did." Sam just ignored the comment.

"Wait, who's Hanukkah, or Christmas? Are they friends from school? I've never met them."

So with the help of everyone in the household, they sat Danielle down and explained what the holidays were.

Danielle's eyes filled with excitement at every word as they told her how with Christmas a big jolly man with a long white beard, red coat, and pants to match would come through the house's chimney to deliver presents and eat and drink the cookies that the kids would make and leave out. They explained how they hung up lights, set up a tree, and gave each other gifts as well.

This, of course, invoked a small battle between Maddie and Jack on whether or not the jolly good man truly existed. "Our son is half ghost. Should we really question the impossible anymore? Let's not forget he has a biological fourteen-year-old daughter."

That made her pause. In all her years of marriage, that was possibly the most sound proof that he'd given. _When did our lives become so weird that the idea of Santa Claus being real is on the more normal side of the spectrum of our lives?_

Next, Sam explained her traditions: how Hanukkah was a Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire. The festival was observed by lighting the candles of a candelabrum with nine branches, called a Hanukkah menorah. One branch was typically placed above or below the others and its candle was used to light the other eight candles. This unique candle was called the shamash. Each night, one additional candle was lit by the shamash until all eight candles were lit together on the final night of the holiday.

"I guess we've been so busy that we forgot about the holidays." Danny couldn't help but feel guilty. He had a daughter now, and he forgot all about it. 'I'm really horrible at this,' he thought.

"There is some good news to all this," Jack said. "Ever since we met up with the President he has taken a particular interest in our ghost research. Just last month we were approved for government funding! We were trying to keep it a secret so this way the holidays would be extra jam-packed with awesome. However, I think a portion of the funding can go towards a little certain someone experiencing her first-holiday shopping spree."

Sam smiled. "Come on Jazz, Danny. We're taking Danielle to go shopping!" 'Wait, since when is mom happy about shopping?' thought Dani.

Dani was shocked, to say the least, Grandma and Grandpa were fighting about a man in a red coat, mom was happy to go shopping, and lastly, Dani's head was spinning trying to figure out what all her friends and family would want as a gift. Especially Tucker.

Arriving at the Hart-Mart Superstore, Dani noticed that there were more people there than usual. "What's going on with all the people?" Danielle asked.

Sam explained. "Ah, you have never experienced the wonder that is holiday shopping. It's the one time a year where everyone gets off their butts and throws themselves into awkward conversations with strangers just to get the last item their loved one wants."

"I'll ask again." Danielle felt the frustration of her mother's unexplained happiness. " _Why are you happy_!?" Sam just laughed.

"Maybe it's because most people do these things out of the kindness of their own heart for once rather than having some ulterior motive behind it." Jazz insisted.

Taking a deep breath, Danielle walked through the sliding doors to be hit by a barrage of upbeat holiday music.

Inside the store, the crowd rushed all over. There were kids screaming for the toy they liked they littered almost every pathway. Adults were running over other adults for the last item on a shelf.

"Jingle all the way!" Dani heard someone shout.

She looked to see Lancer's familiar face being knocked to the ground by what she assumed was an Austrian bodybuilder.

"This is my Turbo-Man!" The large man said as he walked away from Lancer.

Danielle walked over to Lancer to help him up. He thanked her, saying, "Ah, I see you too, are sharing the meaning of the season, eh, ."

Danielle definitely did not expect to see her teacher here. "What was that about?" Dani asked.

"My niece is spending Christmas with me and all she wanted was that dang doll."

"Action figure," Dani interrupted.

"Well, that action figure was the last one available until February. Without it, I have nothing for her."

"Hold on a minute Mr. Lancer, I'll be back." With that, Dani transformed into her ghost state and flew toward the overly large man. Lancer could hear a loud thud in the distance followed by the young halfa yelling "Hey jerk face, you've been terminated!" Flying back with much enthusiasm, Dani gave Lancer the action figure with not a scratch on it. "Happy holidays Mr. Lancer!" Dani said as she walked away.

"What was that about?" Sam questioned, walking through the main entrance.

Dani gave a sinister smile. "Nothing, just spreading some holiday cheer."

With that, Danielle flew off to see what the store had left to offer. Making her way to the video game section she saw Danny's gift locked behind the wall of glass. There it was: Space Exploration 7, Dad's favorite game franchise. It had action, aliens, strange planets; it was awesome! Phasing through the glass, Dani grabbed the game and put it in her basket.

"One down, five to go."

Jazz was pretty simple. Dani picked her up a deluxe bath and relaxation basket with stress relieving bath beads. Mom's gift, on the other hand, would have to come from somewhere a little more special. She knew what she was going to do for Tucker but that couldn't be bought at a store. So all that was left was Grandma and Grandpa. Grandpa was easy as pie, or in this case the 'World's Largest Selection of Premiere Fudge'. Now, what would Grandma want or need? She thought about all that Grandma did for not just the entire family but particularly the giant man-child that was Grandpa. Without hesitation, Danielle took out her phone and reserved an all-day appointment at the Amity Park Spa and Massage Palace.

'Well, that's it for this store, time to find Jazz and Mom and get my butt going.'

* * *

After paying for her items she saw Jazz and Sam. Walking up to them, Dani noticed that they weren't carrying any bags but instead neatly wrapped packages bright with color and ribbons. "Where did you get those?" Dani asked. "Oh, we got them wrapped in the kiosk in the back of the store," replied her mother. "It's free if you want to get your gifts wrapped too."

"Sweet!" Danielle squeaked in delight as she rushed to the back of the store. Reaching the back of the store, Dani saw a large crowd gathered around a small counter.

"Beware!" She heard off in the distance.

'Oh great, Can't I just get one day without having to fight this loser.' Transforming into her ghost form, she made her way through the crowd in search of her rectangular annoyance.

"Beware! If your brother sees his gift before it's wrapped it could ruin his holiday."

'What in Butch's name was going on?' Dani thought to herself. Well, there he was in all his red and green glory, the box ghost helping all in the store wrap their holiday presents.

"What is going on," She flew up to ask him. "Aren't you usually using boxes to hurt people instead of helping them?"

"Foolish Ghost-child. This time of year all ghosts hold the Christmas truce where for a short time we put down our arms and enjoy the good feeling of the season. Plus between you and I, my OCD hates when packages aren't properly wrapped. Also, that shadow Master scares me. I do not wish to be one of his minions."

"Eh, to each their own I guess. I really doubt you're a top-priority on his list though."

With the gifts properly wrapped Danielle flew back to Aunt Jazz's car with all the energy she could spare. Her mother looked back at her. "So did you find everything you wanted to get?"

"Eh, there are some things I need to special order, but for now I think I have a good start."

The week went by in a blur, and soon it was the moment of truth: the night of Christmas Eve.

Dani was in bed like everyone else. Her mother was spending the night due to the fact that Hanukkah had been over for a couple weeks and her parents had already got all their celebrating done with for the season. She'd see Nana and Papa and great-grandma Ida this weekend to celebrate belated holidays of their own.

* * *

There was something about this night that made her restless. It was not as if she was nervous or ready for a fight, no she was happy and excited to see everyone's face when they'd open their gifts in the morning. Still, she did her best to drift off to sleep.

She woke up at about four-thirty to hear a loud thud coming from downstairs. Vision blurry, she phased through the floor to see Jack wearing a red version of his jumpsuit. "Yes, White chocolate Macadamia nut. Thanks, Jack you really know how to hook your older brother up. Is this whole milk, sweet! Ain't no coal in this Mother tonight."

"Grandpa..." Dani said, trying to bring her eyes into focus. "Why are you up so early?"

"Grandpa?" the red Jack said in confusion."Oh yes, Danielle, I was just hungry so I thought I could test Santa's cookies before he got here." She blinked a couple of times.

"Grandpa what's with your hair, it's all white."

"Oh, my hair... It was a lab accident, just some toxic chemicals, nothing scary. Now it's late and you have a long day ahead of you, you should go back to bed." So young Danielle did just that. She walked up the steps back to her room. Before she entered she heard the unmistakable sound of Grandpa snoring from his bedroom.

'Wait a minute..."Danielle thought.

Once again she heard a loud thud coming from downstairs followed by loud banging coming from the ceiling.

"Eh, screw it. I'm too tired." Resting her head on her pillow, she fell back to sleep.

* * *

"Santa was here!" Jack yelled as he made his rounds, waking everyone in the process. "Get your butts downstairs, it's present time!" Danielle shrugged off her sleep and phased into the kitchen to see Danny making a pot of coffee.

"I thought Grandma makes the coffee," Danielle said.

Danny smiled. "Grandma doesn't make anything before six AM. So I make it every Christmas and put a couple of energy drink shots in there to make sure she doesn't turn into a bear when your Grandpa wakes everyone at the butt crack of dawn." Dani chuckled a bit and then followed Danny out into the living room. The living room was brightly lit with hundreds of colorful lights and under the tree was a plethora of gifts. "Danielle, seeing as you are the newest member of this family, how about you pass out the presents."

Danielle was delighted. With everyone gathered around she began to hand out gift after gift, paying special attention when someone would open one from her.

First was Jazz. Tearing off the paper Jazz's eyes lit up. "Thank you so much, Danielle, those finals really stress a girl out. This is perfect."

Next, she passed Grandma a little piece of paper. "Ah, it's a recipe," Maddie says confused.

Dani smiled. "Not just a recipe but a reminder. Read the back."

"Your appointment is scheduled for December twenty-ninth at the Amity Park Spa and Massage Palace! Oh My Gosh! Thank you, thank you!" After about fifteen more thank yous, Danielle handed over a large box to Grandpa Jack. Jack ripped open the box with the force of three mammoths, barely leaving the insides intact. A single tear fell down his rosy face.

"World of Fudge collection." He got off the couch and picked up Danielle with the tightest hug of her life.

"Alright next we have Mom's gift" Sam smiled as Danielle handed her a fairly large gift bag.

Removing the paper Sam shrieked. "How did you do this?"

Danielle gave her one of her signature evil grins. "I travelled alone for two years, I've met people that owed me favors and now they don't. Now, come on show them!"

Sam looked down slightly embarrassed. After all, this was one of her biggest secrets. But this was from her daughter so if there was ever a time to be brave... Sam reached her hands in the bag and pulls out a stuffed Corgi Plushy wearing a black tank top, black and green plaid skirt, leather boots, wristbands and a green collar with a Fenton thermos as the dog tag. Danny laughed just a bit.

"That is so cool," He said. "It's like you're twins."

Sam walked over to Danielle and gave her a big hug and a kiss on the top of her head.

"Happy Hanukkah mom," Danielle said. Lastly she made her way to Danny. "Here you go Daddy," She said, handing her dad the last gift.

Danny unwrapped his gift to see the game he had been waiting for over a month to get released. He wrapped his arms around Danielle, lifting her just slightly as they hovered for a single moment. "You are an awesome daughter," Danny said kissing her on the forehead.

Hearing a little beep Dani picked up the phone.

"Merry Christmas Fenton family!" Tucker said from the other side. "I'm on speaker right? Good. So I do have some things at my place for the Fenton youngsters, but for the Grown-ups I wanted you to know as Mayor my gift to you is that I have paid your property taxes for the next five years." Maddie and Jack shouted out in joy.

"Oh, Mr. Mayor," Danielle called out in a cute voice. Danny's eyes gave a sideways glance. "I just wanted you to know that I left you a present last night." Tucker sounded confused. "Eh, what is that sweetie?"

"Wait! sweetie?" Danny yelled in confused anger.

"Just a moment Daddy." Danny knew she always used the word daddy as a term of endearment when she was really happy, or trying to make herself seem innocent. Danielle took the phone off speaker. "Look at your PDA and tell me if you don't see anything different."

Danny looked to Sam, "We're giving her the talk. Soon."

"Whoa, mamma!" Tucker said on the other line. "What did you do to her?"

Dani smiled. "Well, a certain tech ghost had been in our custody for some time and I convinced him to give your PDA a little upgrade. You now have twice the Wi-Fi range, three times the battery, and a full terabyte of memory."

"Sweet Christmas, you are amazing!"

"Well, Merry Christmas Pookums," Dani said, hanging up the phone. "Pookums..." Danny said, filled with sass. "We need to have a talk. Tomorrow."

Everyone was well rested, making their way back to their rooms for a nice eight AM nap.

"Wait there's one more!" Jack yelled.

"That's strange I don't remember buying this one," Maddie says confused. "Who is it for?"

Inspecting the neatly wrapped gift, he looked for a name tag. "Danielle!" Jack said. "Look who it's from." Jack pointed to the scribbling on the package. Danielle looked closer to see the words 'Great Uncle Nick.'

Unwrapping the present, it was a picture frame and the picture was of Danielle and her other five friends and family members. In the frame, there was an inscription.

It read:

" _No matter how far you go true family will never leave you."_

 _"True family."_

* * *

 **Shoutout to my amazing beta reader silente faery, I'm so thankful that she puts up with my grammar errors and everything. Lol. Please review! I love the feedback. Until next time!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19! I can't wait for you guys to see what in store for the next upcoming chapters! Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Butch Hartman does.**

* * *

Her face was flushed crimson red. She avoided eye contact with everyone in the household, even when Tucker came over. The conversation that she just had with her parents was one for the history books.

The talk.

Then Aunt Jazz explained what happens once a month for girls, typically at least. When she found out mom didn't have to go through that, a flare of jealousy settled in her stomach. Danielle was not looking forward to having her first period.

She shuddered one again at the words 'the talk'. Now, whenever Tucker came near her, Danielle would start stuttering out words, then would make an excuse and leave the room.

"What's her problem?" Tucker looked at Sam and Danny. The halfa just sent an angry scowl towards his best friend.

"I don't know, _Pookums_. Why don't you tell us? Because at sixteen years of age, I had to tell my daughter, who is only two years younger than me, how babies are made. And how she's not allowed to do anything like that until I'm fully dead."

"Dude, nothing is going on with me and Dani... we're not dating. Yet."

 _"Yet!?"_

"We've...just been getting to know each other. That's all. We also were planning on talking to both of you before anything had gotten serious."

"So, that's where she's been running off to? With you? You two have been running off together, doing Butch knows what!? And what's with you two calling each other sweetie and pookums if you're not dating?"

Tucker put his hands up in defense. "We aren't doing anything you wouldn't approve of. I wouldn't disrespect her or you like that man. You know that. We were talking a few days ago and the nicknames kinda slipped from her lips. We do it more in play than anything."

Danny turned his glare onto Sam. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

Sam placed her hands on hips, giving him a hard stare down."First off, calm down I haven't really said anything because you've been raging ever since Tucker step into the house. Secondly, I'm not really mad because we know Tucker, we've known him since pre-school. He wouldn't hurt or do anything against Danielle that she wouldn't want."

She then turned her attention back to Tucker. "If I'm being completely honest, I thought you'd be clueless a lot longer."

"I'm not Danny, Sam."

"When did this exactly... start? I mean, I know you two have been going off and disappearing this entire week, but when did it exactly start?"

"I guess after her date with that Asher guy, we kinda just, connected? I guess is the word."

Taking a deep breath, Danny willed himself to calm down to come back to reality. Opening his eyes, he sent his best friend an apologetic glance.

"I'm sorry Tuck. Sam's right, you wouldn't do anything to Dani. I just guess my fatherly insects took over. Group hug?" He opened his arms to envelop both of his best friends. "What is this, Full House?" Tucker said sassily arms wrapped around him. In the end, these people were his family, a part that he trusted with his life.

"You know," Jazz cut in from her spot in the chair at the kitchen table. "If Danielle and Tucker got married, he'd be your son in law."

"One step at a time Jazz. One step at a time." Sam called out.

* * *

Danielle went to bed still embarrassed by the day's talk. Drifting off to sleep she felt uneasy but this was different and the same all in one. It reminded her of that looming feeling in the days that had lead up to the shadow's attack.

Her dream was dark and full of shadows. They covered every crevice and corner. The shadows surrounded her as she moved. Her chest was becoming heavy, making it almost impossible to breathe. Her heartbeat was loud, as loud as drums echoing through her mind.

Drum.

Louder.

Beat.

Faster

Drum.

Louder.

Beat.

With every beat, the weight became heavier. She was as cold as ice, seeing her breath in the very dim light. She pounced forward into the darkness, as the drumbeat became faster. She took out a black blade that had been hidden in her sleeve, and threw it into the darkness. The sound of wailing soon filled the darkness, followed by silence.

"You will not have my people as well, Shadow thief!" With that, a bright light filled the shadow, the freezing air cutting through Dani's skin, chilling her down to the bone.

She opened her eyes and darkness once again filled her vision. She was back in her room. Still frozen, still cold.

She clutched her arm where the ice blast had cut her. The same arm where Vlad had hit her with an ectoblast that had left a scar. The day she gained access to her ghost half. The makeup that she had applied earlier was still masking the scars. Blinking away the memories, she slowly sat up so as to let her body adjust to being awake once again. She went to retrieve her robe, crawled back into bed, and tried to sleep away the nightmare.

Hopefully, that's all it was.

* * *

The next day mom came over to help grandma and grandpa with some irregularities with the ghost portal. Apparently, grandpa and grandma had been noticing the Ghost portal was acting strange as of late.

"So what seems to be wrong with the great white whale today?" Sam asked sarcastically. "Well, it seems that the structure of the Ghost Zone is changing, but that's impossible. A dimension doesn't just start changing overnight."

Before Sam could ponder the horrifying implications of the Ghost Zone changing its state, Danielle rushed downstairs to see her mother working with her grandpa, grandma, and dad.

"Hey mom, can I talk to you about something? It's kinda personal."

A worried look crosses her mother's features. "Like boy problems or 'Talk' problems?" Sam asked.

"Not 'Talk' problems.' I just want to talk to you about a strange dream I had last night."

"Ah thank goodness, because I can't really take another one of those talks today. Oh, and if Nana asks about our trip to DC, make sure to tell her you slept in my room the entire time."

"Um... okay," Danielle said, confused.

After heading upstairs to Danielle's room, they closed the door and discussed last night's strange events.

"So let me get this right, in the dream you were walking through shadows and an ice blast almost cut you?"

She nodded her head.

"Well, are you okay?" She moved to take a look at her daughter's arm, but just as her fingers brushed against her skin Danielle reeled back, putting at least five feet between them.

"I-I'm okay, mom. Promise."

"Right, and your nana's hair color is original orange. And just so we're clear I get my natural black hair from her." Danielle tried her best to muster up a small smile, but even she knew it was fake.

"I think I'm gonna take a nap. I didn't sleep much 'cause of the nightmare."

Sighing, Sam knew it was time to give the young teen her privacy.

Once the door was closed, Danielle went over to her dresser, throwing her clothes behind her until she found the item that she was looking for. Her mom's drawing of the DP logo that they all wore on their clothing. Grabbing her messenger bag, she stuffed the papers into them into the bag, transformed, and phased through the window.

It took a while for Danielle to find her destination, but once she did she reverted back to human form. It was Amity Tattoos Palace.

Taking a deep breath, she pushes the glass door open, and stepped into the small, inviting warmth the tattoo parlor. Looking to her left, she saw a muscular man with a greying beard behind a counter. His grey hair was pulled back into a rough ponytail. He was covered in tattoos, and had deep coral eyes. He had to be about forty.

He seemed friendly enough.

"Hey little lady," She could tell he had a slight southern drawl. "I'm just closing up, it's five in the evening and I close at four thirty. Besides, you seem a little you-"

The man stopped dead in his sentence when he realized who had entered his shop.

"Hey, you're Danielle Fenton, Danny Fenton's kid, right?"

She paused for a moment. "Uh, how'd you know?"

"Everyone's been talking about you. I'm surprised you haven't been on the news yet." Rolling her eyes Danielle couldn't help but mutter, "Stupid kids from school."

"Well, what can I do for ya kid?"

Digging through her bag, Dani produced the papers of her mother's drawings. After handing the older man the papers, lips pursed, he studied the art.

"This is some mighty fine work you have here kid-"

"It's my mom's." She interrupted.

"Sam Manson?" She nodded. "Well, your mom has some talent, but I don't think I can do this. You're only fourteen, you're underage, Sweetheart."

"Please." She pleaded. Her voice was nothing but a light whisper as she bunched up her arm sleeve to reveal the angry red mark that ran from her wrist to her forearm. "Please," She begged one more time, letting him see the pain that this mark really truly caused her inside. The one on her back was bad, worse in size. This one, however, still haunted her to this day, two years later. This burned her inside.

"You're parents didn't... do this to you, did they?" She shook her head.

"The person... who... he... Someone else did this. I want his mark on me gone. I want everything about him gone." Her voice was nothing but solemn.

After he nodded towards one of the leather chairs, she went to take her seat.

"You've eaten recently?"

"Yes," She actually just had some pizza.

"Have any heart or blood problems?" He asked as he started up his equipment.

"Nope."

"Have you taken any pain meds in the past four hours?"

"No."

"Okay. Now please, all that I ask that if I do this do not mention my business name. As far as you know, you went to a random rundown shop downtown. Understand?"

She gave a nod in reply.

Danielle was surprised. The pain, while certainly there, isn't unbearable. It felt like an ongoing rug burn until it finally fades to a state of numbness. The tattoo guy had said that it would do that, so she didn't worry and instead was thankful for a near no pain state that the needle was applying.

As he was working, he gave her an idea as to cover up the whole scar because the simple DP wasn't going to work, and eventually they came up with the night sky, with stars sprinkled throughout. It gave a space feel to it, adding more of her onto the tattoo.

It was soon finished. She inspected the shiny new ink that covered horrible memories. Another weight that she didn't know that she bared on her chest was lifted, making breathing even easier.

When she went to ask what she could do to pay for the tattoo, or if he took payment in installations, all he did was wave her off, simply saying with a sympathetic and understanding look in his eyes, "Your past has paid enough. This one's on me."

 _I'm not yours anymore Vlad._

 _I'm not yours._

 _I don't belong to you anymore._

 _I finally belong to myself._

* * *

When she crawled back in through her window, she almost expected them to be there. Standing there, with their arms crossed over their chests, they were wearing the angriest expressions that she had yet to see on their faces. She quickly hid her arm behind her back.

"Danielle Jane Fenton, where the hell have you been?" Sam said.

Giving a nervous chuckle, she tried her best to dodge their questions.

"Hey mom, daddy. I just took a walk. Needed fresh air and all that." They didn't buy her lie. Sighing she brought her arm in front of her, showing the bandaged tattoo.

This time, Danny spoke, "Danielle, please tell me that's fake." When she didn't answer, it only angered him further. "Why did you do that!? You're fourteen, you know it's illegal until you're eighteen. We don't care so much about the tattoo than the fact that you got it done at an unclean place without our permission! So, please, enlighten us on why you did it."

"The video, of Vlad...of how he "trained" me." The anger from both parents started to deflate, if only a little, at the mention of the crazed fruit loop.

"What I didn't tell you is that that last blast he threw at me left me with a permanent scar. I needed to cover it up."

"We still need to punish you, Danielle. You did something underage without our permission, and lied right to our faces. You have to learn you can't do that."

Sam turned to Danny. "How do we punish her?" Only looking at each other for a second before they called out:

"Mom! Dad!"

"Jack! Maddie!"

"What!?" They yell back from an unknown location from in the house.

"Danielle got a tattoo. How do we parent?"

"Grounding works! You're the parent though, you decide the rest."

* * *

She was grounded only for two weeks. No cell phone, no laptop; and especially no seeing Tucker for anything past ghost hunting or school reasons. Even though she told them she and Tucker weren't together yet. She also had to do double the chores.

All in all, it wasn't bad. She understood why she was being punished. They didn't care so much as the tattoo, that the act of getting it illegally and lying to their faces about it which, as Danielle thought as she was scrubbing away the little bits on of food on the plate, was a pretty plausible reason. Even if she wasn't in favor of getting in trouble.

However, no matter how many dishes she scrubbed, or the burning ache that the tattoo had left on the skin of her forearm, she couldn't shake the dream from her thoughts. She could tell that mom had told dad since after she returned home he had been keeping an eye on her, then again, that could just do with the whole grounding thing.

Two weeks blurred together, but her punishment was finally over with. It all consisted of: Aunt Jazz going back to school, unfortunately, training her butt off - Dad would not let off of it - and school work. Lots of school work.

It was three in the morning and Danielle had just woken from another horrible nightmare. To calm her nerves she decided to creep downstairs to grab a snack.

"I don't know mom," Her hearing picked up the voices of her dad in the kitchen. "I feel like I failed her. I know Danielle forgives me, but every time I close my eyes I see that ghost, those claws digging into Dani's back. Her scream still echoes in my ears and I can't tune it out, I don't deserve to. That's why I've been training her so hard. The situation the Ghost Zone is getting worse day by day, but I'm too scared to go in there with her. I can't."

Danielle could hear the despair in his voice.

 _Oh, dad, you can't keep thinking about this. We have to move on._

"Danny," she could hear grandma say, almost picturing the reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"What happened, we can't change that. We have to focus on the here and now; you can't let the guilt eat you up. She's getting stronger each and every time you train her."

"Sam says she's been having nightmares. What if it's a sign that something coming?"

"We deal with it. We can't keep putting this off Danny, we're gonna have to fight this guy, and soon."

She heard him sigh.

"I know, you're right."

Deciding it was best to not make her presence known, Danielle headed back to her room. Back in her bed, forcing her mind to drift off to sleep, Dani could only think one thing.

 _I will make this right dad._

 _I promise._

* * *

 **A/N: As always, Shout out to my amazing beta reader silente faery. Thank you for all that you do! Until next time.**

 **I just thought I'd put here that I don't advise underage tattooing. And always make sure you do it in a safe and clean place where the people know what they're doing once your of age. Lol,**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20! I'm pretty sure we're coming up to a close soon. Probably five more chapters or so (maybe ten, I really wanna do this justice)**

 **Disclaimer: I do don't own Danny Phantom. Butch Hartman does.**

* * *

"We're going on a date." That shocked Danielle. It seemed so normal: Her parents going on a date. Was that even a possibility in their life? Her eyes landed on Tucker who was typing away on his PDA.

"When?"

"In an hour or so. Nightmare on Elm Street is playing. The re-make."

Well, if they had enough time to go on a date, maybe...

Danielle let out a dramatic sigh, loud enough for Tucker to hear. "If only I had a date tonight. To the movies." When he didn't respond, annoyance started to flare in her eyes. "If only a techno-geek ghost hunter would take me as his date."

Her parents tried to stifle their laughter when their best friend wouldn't take the hint, oblivious to the conversation taking place. Deciding he needed a little help, Danny hit Tucker on the back of his head.

Snapping up from the device in his hands, Tucker swept the room, looking for the threat. "Huh-what? What's going on?"

"Sam and I are going on a date."

"Congrats?"

"And I was just saying how fun that sounded. You know. _A date_. _Of the romantic kind_." Danielle stressed.

"Oh-um, yeah. A date." ' _What the heck man?'_ He thought. ' _I'm never like this towards girls. I'm always confident. What's wrong with me?'_ Danielle was a beautiful girl, Yeah, he liked other girls before her, but never was it like this.

They didn't have her crystal blue eyes that held the depths of the sky and more. Those eyes held so many emotions, so many memories; eyes that had seen so many bad and good things, but still found a way to shine.

And no, even if people made fun of him for dating his best friend's daughter, he didn't see Danny in those amazing sky blue eyes. He saw Danielle Jane Fenton: A complete different individual from her father, even before they found out that she wasn't a clone. She was her own person.

They didn't have her shy smile that would spread on her face inch by inch as good news was told.

They didn't have her fierce strong will to survive, to live.

They couldn't make his heart just drop at the mere sight of them like Danielle could. Making him stumble over his words like a bumbling idiot. And he knew that. He knew he couldn't put up his fake facade of being confident. She would see right through it.

They didn't have what she had.

And that quite honestly scared the shit out of him.

"About that, I thought we were going to sit down and talk with Danny and Sam before anything became serious."

"We're in the same room Tuck," Danny cut in. "How do you know there's anything serious if you don't even go on a first date?" Gulping away a lump that had formed in his throat, he agreed. Then he muttered about how he had to run home and get dressed, and that he'd be back in half an hour.

"Is he okay?" Sam asked.

* * *

Tucker couldn't hold down his dinner. He had a date. An official date with Danielle Fenton. He was combing through his clothes to find something suitable to wear for the date, but nothing seemed worthy.

 _He_ wasn't worthy,

When he honestly thought of actually getting a date, and possible girlfriend, he thought of someone more on his level. A tech geek, with a love for meat. If he was lucky enough.

Not Danielle, not someone that was actually out of his league, someone who fought ghosts on a daily basis, and looked fear in the face every day. Someone that had seen shit on a daily basis and yet found a reason to smile each and every day.

And who was he? Someone that helped Danny Phantom catch ghosts and half the time accidentally let them lose when he wasn't careful, and sure, he was the mayor, but so what?

Moreover, even though he put on an act as if though he could date someone in the A-lister group, he never truly believed it. But she had chosen him, and now as he stumbled for a decent pair of pants, he hoped Clockwork had a good sense of humor and if he messed up, the old ghost would help him out. Hopefully.

* * *

Danielle couldn't fathom why for the life of her as to why Tucker was so jittery. Her parents were in the way back, while they were in the front row, much to dad's relief. She could almost feel his eyes bore into her back every few minutes or so.

 _Such an overprotective dad._

"Tuck," She placed her hand on his shoulder, to grab his attention and to soothe the tapping of his foot to the wooden panel of the floor. "Are you sure you're okay pookums?" Hoping the nickname would at least get him to laugh.

"I heard that!" She heard her dad call out from the back. Luckily there weren't many people gathered in the theaters seeing as the movie still had twenty minutes until it started.

"If you can cuddle with mom, I think it's okay to call him pookums, dad!" She shoots back. She then turned back to the jumpy guy next to her.

"Tucker, seriously, is everything okay? Is it...me? Was this a mistake?" He could see the shattering of her heart in her eyes and he instantly felt guilty. ' _Shit,_ _the first date and I messed up big time._ ' She made a move as to get up to leave when he quickly grabbed her hand.

Ignoring the tingling sensation that shot up his arm and down his spine, he tried to backtrack. "No no no no." He rushed the words out before she could go intangible and fly off.

Sighing, he continued as he gently pulled her back to her seat."Look, you're my first, well first whatever this is. I've had dates before but never made it past the third one. And you, well, I don't want this to end after the third date. I like you," Danielle's face broke out in a light blush. "And I guess I'm just a nervous wreck because I want you to enjoy this date."

A shy smile accompanied the blush on her futures and Tucker decided right there and then that he'd do everything in his power to keep her that happy. Without warning, she leaned up from her seat and placed a small kiss on the corner of his mouth, which in turn made him almost choke on his own air.

With that, Danielle settled comfortably against Tucker, prompting a small gleeful smile from her lips when he wrapped a still slightly shaky arm around her shoulders.

Soon enough the movie started and all the nerves started to melt away. As long as he had this amazing girl in his arms everything would be alright.

* * *

With the movie starting, Danielle really felt more at peace. This was so different from Asher. She felt so comfortable in Tucker's arms; it wasn't awkward after he finally relaxed. It felt like a missing puzzle piece was found and put in its rightful place.

Tucker had a love-hate relationship with horror movies. He loved watching them, getting into the core of the story but as soon as that creature popped out all that joy and libido shriveled up in cowardice at the image of those fangs. Sure he fought ghosts for a living but they were usually not trying to look demonic.

However tonight he felt no fear with the young woman wrapped in his arms. Even though he was the one with his arm around her the feeling of her just being there in his embrace gave him confidence that no monster could take away.

Dani could tell there was going to be a jumpscare coming up soon. The way the music started to slowly escalate until it shrieked in her ears followed by just a moment of silence.

Nothing.

Then of course there it was.

The silver screen tore in half as a giant sharp tooth shadow figure emerged from behind the scenes, its tentacles moving about around him.

"Foolish mortals, you cannot hide that which is truly not yours!" 'Was this guy for real?' she thought.

Black tendrils launched forward wrapping around Danielle's arm. The feeling of this thing's grasp once again made the fear in her stomach boil. She was just about to conjure up an ecto-blast when someone cut her off.

 _"Not this time you blob of ink!"_

Not a moment passed as the shadow screamed out in pain as black ink dispersed from the tendrils no longer attached to Danielle.

Sam and Danny looked down towards the action and saw Tucker holding a glowing green blade about two feet in length. Not even a minute after Danny had transformed into Phantom, and Danny could see Tucker fighting off the shadow easily. The couple's mouths were agape. When had Tucker become so... so not Tucker?

The shadow lunged at Tucker but to no avail as he swung his blade once again, making sure Danielle stayed safe. Reaching into his pocket he grabbed three little orbs and threw them at the figure. "Enjoy the light show freak!" Tucker yelled as he clicked the bottom hilt of his blade.

The theater erupted in a blinding strobe light.

The shadow screeched as the light burned its being. As the shadow was making its retreat it was pulled back toward the three orbs as it was sucked into the space between the three.

"And stay there!" Tucker yelled in victory.

Danielle just stood next to Tucker looking him up and down in awe. Before he could speak Danielle drew him against her, planting the most passionate kiss she could give to the young mayor.

"That doesn't count as our first kiss just so you know."

Danny flew down from the back of the theater.

"You know if I would have known you would kiss him like that I might have been rooting for the shadow in that fight. All things aside, is everybody okay?"

Danielle just shook her head rapidly, holding tight to her man."Yeah dude, that chump didn't stand a chance."

There was a pause; the halfa's eyes traveled down before Danny started laughing. "Apparently neither did your pants."

Looking down Tucker saw the cherry coke he had been drinking was now spilled all over both himself and the floor."Man, I just bought these pants."

Sam stepped up. "Come on lover boy, I'll go get us some napkins."

After dealing with the applause from the audience and the autographs that came afterward, everyone tried to settle down.

The movie ended and everyone made their way home.

On the way home, they started talking. Danielle was telling him stories about her travels over the past two years; how one time she had been this forest area, trees all around her and how she couldn't even see the sky. She hadn't been lost; she was taking cover from a ghost that was tracking her, and when she knew it was clear, she had climbed a tree, and once she had made it to the top, she was rewarded with the most beautiful sunset she had ever seen, and from then, even though she loved the night, the evening always had a special spot in her heart.

In all of this, Tucker just listened, Danielle could tell by how enraptured he was in her story. And that just made her all the happier. After her tale, he gave a few stories of his own of the trio's adventures.

Back at Fenton-Works, Danny went up to his room as Sam kept watch over the two lovebirds.

Danielle stood in front of Tucker under the doorframe.

"Well I guess this is goodnight then," Tucker said, about to walk back to his limo.

"Hey clueless, I think you forgot something," Someone called out.

"I know Sam, I'm just nervous."

Standing there was Danielle, lips puckered, arms crossed and foot tapping on the ground.

Stepping back to Danielle he looked at her, embarrassed.

"So let me get this straight, you can basically one-shot a giant angry shadow creature but the moment I pucker my lips is the moment your nervous." She drew him in once more for what Danielle called their " _acceptable"_ first kiss before he could answer. This was sweet, shy, but also warm and inviting.

"Good. Let's keep it that way."

Tucker stumbled his way back to the limo currently on cloud nine, trying not to drunkenly fall off the sidewalk.

Dani looked back at Sam with a giant smile. "Don't tell daddy please."

Sam just smiled at the fact that Dani had taken after her quite a bit by this point.

* * *

Dani woke up the next day well rested and ready to start her day off right. Phasing through the floor, she immediately raided the fridge for Jack's leftover Meat Lovers pizza.

Taking as much as her arms could carry, she came out to the living room to see her entire family watching TV with extreme interest.

"The president giving us another award or something?" Dani asked the group. They all looked back at her with faces filled with dread. No face was worse than Sam's as she jumped up from the floor and hugged Danielle.

"Mom are you okay? What the heck is going on?"

Danny joined Sam in their hug and afterward pointed to the television.

"We continue our coverage as the town of Amity park wakes up to this travesty. Town mayor Tucker Foley has yet to be reached in the wake of today's events and is reported missing. We now go to Josh who is live at the charred remains of Town Hall."

"Dad... What's going on?"

"Apparently there was some sort of ghost attack on Town Hall overnight, they have been reporting on it all this morning. Grandma and Grandpa have been assisting the cleanup team as best they can but not even they have found any sign of Tucker."

Dani's feelings were numb. Numb and welcoming any sort of feeling, joy sadness, bliss, pain. It didn't matter, all she wanted was to feel something. Her knees felt shaky, like they might give way at any moment. She couldn't get any air into her lungs, the world around her just blurred, nothing felt real; she couldn't connect anything together, it was all out of arm's reach.

In a moment her world of pizza and early morning Doctor Who had been made hollow with just one look at the TV.

Her breath was sharp and painful as if she was caught in a blizzard without a jacket.

Sam held her tight as she began to stumble, almost falling several times.

" _This just in_!" Blasted from the TV.

"We have reports that an ambulance is being called to the scene and there appears to be someone recovered from the wreckage. We are unaware at this time if it is indeed the young Mayor but it seems that for whomever they found there is still a fighting chance for this individual. Let's just hop..." Danny turned off the TV.

"Sweetheart I know you are distressed but I need you to help grab Sam, we're flying to the hospital to see what's going on. I'll meet you there soon." When she finally felt her mind come back to reality, she could hear the anger and pain in her dad's voice. And the emptiness. That was there too.

Danny could have easily carried Sam but at this moment he himself knew it was best to keep Dani with her mother.

Young Dani phased her mother and herself through Fenton-Works toward the hospital. The last thing she heard on the way out was the rage-filled ghostly wails of her father.

Arriving at their destination, the hospital was surrounded by police and fire trucks with an armed barrier to stop people from entering. Luckily for them they could phase through without anyone noticing. Entering the hospital they noticed all the staff was on high alert. After a little bit of snooping through the computer, they found out what room the ambulance would be going to.

"Room three-hundred and four."

Everyone took a breath of relief when the sign outside room three-hundred and four said, T Foley.

Danielle was about to phase through the wall but her father stopped her.

"Listen I know, I want to see him too, but I just want to make sure that you don't see anything you can't handle." Taking his hand off her shoulder he phased through the wall. Phasing back he waved to Danielle and Sam who then follow.

Lying on the bed they saw Tucker, bruised, broken and barely breathing. He was out cold and they didn't think he would be getting up for a while without the assistance of a doctor.

One of the nurses entered the room.

"You must be the Fentons."

"And Manson for the moment." Sam corrected.

"Yeah, Just to let you know visitation hours for a patient such as him will start at noon, but seeing as you all have powers I doubt that you will be following our procedures. So I will say it once and I will say it firmly. Just because we can't physically kick you out does not give you the right to screw around at the risk of our patients, including your dear friend Mr. Mayor here. Also, no feeding him foods he is not ready for behind the doctor's back. The last thing this kid need is to soil what remains of his clothing."

With that pleasant introduction over with, the group did their best as they waited for their friend to regain consciousness.

With the day slowly turning into night, Danielle fell asleep due to the utter lack of things to do.

Sam sat next to Danny on the little couch nestled in the far corner of the room. Rubbing his arms, she notices Tucker open one of his bruised black eyes.

"Tuck?" Sam whispered.

Tucker did his best to sit up. Looking at them he just gave a broken smile, teeth slightly colored red, but a smile all the same.

"Where's Danielle?" Tucker said quietly.

"She's sleeping at the side of your bed. If you want I can wake her."

"No. No. I need to talk to you two alone and if she's anything like Danny she can sleep through a hurricane let alone a simple conversation."

Danny and Sam make their way up to the bed as softly as possible.

"What is it, Tuck?"

"Okay, what I'm about to tell you does not make it to Danielle. She will hear it from me when the time is right but for now, I do not want her to feel any sort of guilt. This wasn't just any ghost this was the shadow master. I was about to head to bed after I beat Gavin Geoff and Michele at some Rainbow Siege Six when out of nowhere the entire side of the building collapses."

"You mean explode right? We saw the news."

"No Sam, The entire building fell apart at his mere presence. It's like anything he touches in our world decays until there is nothing left. I'm lucky to get out of this with all my limbs intact."

"How exactly did you get out of it, and what was he after?" Danny asked.

"He wasn't after anything; this wasn't strategy, this was a message. That's why I'm still alive. He let me go after he had kicked my ass around what remains of my awesome office. He said the more we fight him the more we will lose. He knows our families dude. How do we fight something like that?"

"We will do it together just like we always have," Danny saud.

That seemed to help the three relax for the moment.

However, those words gave no comfort to Danielle who had been listening in ever since she heard her mom say Tucker's name. She kept her eyes shut to keep the illusion of her sleep. But how could she sleep? Not only was this Shadow thing hunting her but now her family was in danger, all because of her.

She was not going to let that stand any longer.

Not a second more.

* * *

 **Shout out to my beta reader silente faery 'cause you're awesome sauce for all that you do! (Sorry, weirdness coming out.) Anyway, please let me know what you guys think.**

 **Oh, Danielle, what are you up to hon? Looks like we're gonna find out next chapter…...**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21! Sorry that this is a shorter chapter, I really wanted to end it where I did, plus I wanted to capture how Danielle was acting through someone else's perspective before anything big truly happened. Anyway, on with the story! Disclaimer, I do not own Danny Phantom, Nickelodeon does. (Right? Since Butch left….That's hard to 's no chance he could buy the rights still and do his own thing with it, right? lol)**

* * *

She had been off from the moment she had woken. Danny tried to figure out what was running through his daughter's mind, but whenever he tried talking to her she gave her best smile, and said everything was fine and she was still just shaken by the past few days' events.

While that was a plausible explanation, he just couldn't buy it. Neither did the rest of the family. Now Jazz has been calling every day instead of every the every couple days that was their usual schedule routine. She was worried for Danielle, saying how she was too much like Danny, and if she knew her little brother at all, she would bottle things as to not burden people with her thoughts.

The worst part of it all is that Danny noticed that when she was interacting with people she put on a pretty good act. She was attentive, she was mentally and emotionally there, but the moment she wasn't conversing she was lost to something within the confines of her mind. Her eyes always seemed distant. Like she was arguing inside her own head.

His mom even tried to bribe her into talking about what was swarming through her head. Danielle loved her chocolate chips cookies, she even put a pinch of ectoplasm in; being half ghost, it was definitely something both he and his daughter loved.

However, when presented with the delicious treat, her only response was, "Thanks, grandma, but I'm not too hungry at the moment." That was the first time in all the months that she had been there that she had rejected food.

And that quite frankly scared Danny, because he didn't know what was she thinking of doing. Was she planning something? He knew he himself had a hero complex, and if Danielle was anything like him, which he knew she was, she was stewing something up in her head. He talked to Sam, and they both agreed to keep an extra eye on her for a while.

How could he protect his daughter when the problem lay inside her mind?

* * *

Soon enough, Tucker was discharged from the hospital and was sent home. Well, Fenton Works at least. Danielle wouldn't let the poor guy out of her view sight for more than five minutes, and that was for him to use the bathroom.

However, now that Tucker had been released from the hospital, paparazzi had been swarming the house all morning wanting news on the mayor's well-being and the background information on Danielle, now that the rumors of Danielle's arrival and who she was had been flying around town. Thankfully, Grandpa Jack threatened to use the Jack 'O Nine Tails on them, to which they all fled the property.

"Danielle, Tuck's gonna have to go home sometime soon, how about you walk him home. The paparazzi are finally gone, it's best to do it before they find their way back, they always do. But we want you straight back. No goofing off." She gave a nod towards her dad, and threaded her arm around Tucker and went off.

The silence was welcomed for Danielle. She didn't want to talk, even if she knew things needed to be said. She just couldn't bring herself to speak, and Tucker wasn't about to push.

They reach Tucker's place quickly. When standing on his front porch, she didn't know what possessed her, but she drew the older boy into a tight hug, clutching onto him as tightly as she could, bunching his shirt in her hands, trying to mind the injuries.

' _This might be the last hug. Before we even truly started.'_ The words echoed in her mind as hot tears threatened to leak from her eyes, but she forced them away. Tucker gave a parting kiss to her forehead before she made her way back to Fenton Works.

 _I'm sorry Tucker._

 _I'm sorry everyone._

* * *

The swirling green and black ecto energy of the Ghost Zone was staring at her in the face and she was terrified. Her parents thought she was in the shower at the moment, but no. She was here, in front of the changing Ghost Zone portal, and she was scared out of her mind. If she did survive this, she wouldn't be alive for long once she was home. Everyone would be on her ass for weeks. But it didn't matter. This needed to be done.

 _I love you guys._

Closing her eyes so as if to not to see the pain coming, she flew into the Ghost Zone.

* * *

Making his way upstairs to Danielle's bedroom to ask her what she wanted for dinner, Danny made it to the top step when he just felt off. Like something was wrong and it was too late to fix it. Trying to shrug it off for just a moment, he went to knock on Dani's door.

"Danielle, are you done with showering? Your nana and papa are back from Florida, and are having dinner with us. Grandma wants to know what you wa-"

He quickly stopped mid-sentence when he stepped into her room and saw her bedroom and bathroom empty. It hits him all at once. He fell to his knees in fear.

Danielle was gone.

Danny phased to the basement in mere seconds to see the lab trashed. Lab equipment lay broken all around the room. Danny looked up in horror as he saw the worst sight he had ever seen. The ghost portal was broke in half and falling in on itself.

"No." Danny helplessly whispered.

 _"No!"_

* * *

Danielle felt a chill for a single moment. She was terrified but this was her responsibility, this was her fault thinking she could ever have a normal life. No, she knew now that if she wanted those things she would have to fight for them. She would have to fight to exist, just like she had to with Vlad. That's just how life went.

Looking around she had no clue where she was. The Ghost Zone had always been mysterious but it was different to this extent? Grandpa Jack was right. The Ghost Zone had been changing. All around her what used to be a beautiful green sky was now broken in shards of green being forever swallowed by a black abyss. It just seemed so lifeless.

In the far distance, she could see the light coming from the Far Frozen.

It took a little while without the Specter Speeder but she eventually made it to the heart of the Far Frozen, Frostbite's castle. She let out a sigh of relief of the view.

Entering the castle, Danielle ran up to Frostbite to explain her situation and why she needed his help.

Frostbite replied, "So let me get this straight, the last time your group invaded that mansion with the small band of misfits you all got, how do you kids put it, oh yeah, served. I was the one who had to rescue you four and we barely made it out alive."

"I know but this has to stop, my friends, my family, he is going to hurt everyone I love and..."

Dani paused for a moment.

"Where is your pet wolf, Snowflake?"

"Oh, her. She had been barking non-stop ever since the Shadow Master's last attack. She is currently in the stables with the other beasts."

That wasn't right, Frostbite loved Snowflake; he'd never put her in a pen.

"Frostbite when this last attack happened, didn't those two guards of yours get injured with a dark blade? How are they not still recovering?"

Frostbite grabbed his face as if in pain.

"You are very clever aren't you, my young Danielle."

Frostbite lowered his hand to stare back at Danielle with soulless black eyes.

"You aren't Frostbite! Where is he? What do you want!?" She looks around the snowy terrain as if by some miracle the real Frostbite would pop out and save her. But no rescue came. She was all alone with this evil ghost.

The shadow master remits a deep, cackle laugh. "You will soon find out. Now sleep, child." He waved his hands in front of himself as a mist of green and purple started to fill her vision.

Not a moment later everything went black.

Danielle's body felt cold as ice.

* * *

 **Thanks to my wonderful beta reader, silente faery!**

 **So, How will Danny get into the Ghost Zone with both his portal is gone, and Vlads mansion along with his portal gone as well. Lets not forget, the real Frostbite has the infa map, and with him being taken over….. Well, we'll just have to see what the team does now. What will happen to Danielle? We will have to wait to find out. Until next time.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22! Hope you guys enjoy! Disclaimer, I do not own Danny Phantom, Nickelodeon does.**

* * *

"Danny-" His mom tried to break through the panicking pacing teen. For the past three hours, Danny has been going back and forth, listing off ideas

"No, from what I know, he's under that stupid shadow's control too." Again, she was ignored as he continued his train of thought.

"Daniel-" Even Pamela tried to get Danny to calm down, but he wouldn't stop speaking long enough for anyone to stop talking.

"Maybe we could go looking for a natural portal-"

"Danny-" Tucker tried.

"No, that'd take too long."

But to no avail, their words were not getting through to the pacing teen. Making a rash decision, Sam stepped up in front of Danny's constant back and forth path.

"Danny." She gently grabbed his face, making him look into her amethyst eyes, giving him a light peck on the lips to calm him down. "This isn't helping anything. We have to come up with a plan. Now. There's no portal, and we have no Infa Map. We have to look for other possibilities of getting help from a ghost, and instead, find a way in."

He could slowly feel the anger build. This was his fault; she was his and Sam's responsibility. "I don't know what to do Sam. I feel so lost in this. What do we do?"

He pulled away and resumed pacing. "I should've watched her closely. I should've seen this coming. Damn it!" His fist collided with the wall, leaving a dent into the plaster, and a bruise on his knuckles.

With a last ditch effort, Sam pulled the now shaking teen into her arms, trying to console him as best as she could. She was honestly trying to hold down her own dread, guilt, and pure rage. She could feel his hot tears start to soak her shirt.

"Why did she have to do this Sam? Why?"

"Because she's half you. I've said before, and I'll say it again little brother, she's too much like you." They all turn their attention to the entryway to see Jazz standing there looking frazzled, as if she drove all night to get here. Her eyes were heavy from lack of sleep.

Once the shock wore off on the group, Danny spoke. "Jazz what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Boston?"

"And not help find my own niece? Heck no. We're going, and we're going together."

Pamela stepped up. "She's right, Daniel. That's our granddaughter floating around in that... eerie place, doing goodness knows what. We're going too. And there's nothing you do to stop us."

"You don't even know how to properly fire a weapon."

Maddie cut in, "They could always wear a Specter Deflector, I've modified it so that it won't hurt you, because of your ecto-signature, and I could quickly show the basic of how to shoot, while you, Jazz, Sam, Valerie, and Tucker go find a way into a portal."

"But-"

"No," Jazz interrupted, stepping up to Danny, "Danielle needs us. All of us."

Looking around the group, looking at all the love, and support, he realized one thing.

He wasn't alone in this.

"Okay. We're gonna need a plan. Pamela, Jeremy, you guys stay with my parents so you can get the basics. Valerie and Jazz, you guys go exploring where natural portals typically flare up. Valarie, you have your ecto-tracker. How far does that thing map out?"

"About a square block."

"Good. Start at Nasty Burger and keep going south, and loop around before you exit the town limits. Sam, Tucker and I will be looking for any means of transportation or anything ghost-like at his office."

"Wait," Jazz said. "What transportation? Don't we have the Specter Speeder?"

"Nope. We had to leave it at the castle when we tried to go fight the ghost the first time."

"Dude, my office is in rubbles, remember?"

"Isn't there a basement? That has to be still standing."

"How'd you know about that?"

"When Vlad was mayor, I'd snoop every now and then," Danny explained, receiving a smirk from the young mayor.

"Okay, we know where we're going. Let's go."

 _We're going to find you, Danielle._

* * *

"Danielle."

"Danielle..."

All Danielle could see was blackness. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Her head was pounding. Trying to move, she soon realized she couldn't. Her body was restrained. She was... chained. Chained to that monster's throne. Ecto energy was wrapped around her middle, wrist, and legs, confiding her to her seat.

When her eyes fully adjusted she saw him. Standing in front of her, as if he was... Admiring her. "Hello, my dear." She struggled against the restraints, trying everything to free herself. "Don't even try dear, it's useless. They're beyond your strength."

"What-" She tried to get out between pants, "What do you want with me?"

"Isn't it obvious? I want you to rule with me! At first, I only wanted your father, I wanted him to be part of the shadows, maybe even be my apprentice, teach him all that I know and learn my trade. However, your father is very... powerful. I wouldn't be able to hold any power over him."

"However, Danielle, you are young, still trying to understand your power. Still trying to understand yourself. I've decided you would make an exceptional Queen."

"Your Queen? Sorry to break it to you buddy, but I'm already kinda taken. Besides, my dad says I'm not allowed to get married until I'm at least thirty." She spat out, sarcasm coating the words.

He just let out a cackling laugh. "That's funny. You think you have a choice in the matter. No. Foolish girl. I think not."

"Wait, you were the one sending me those dreams! The one with Frostbite, weren't you! That's why I've been feeling so off. You wanted me to come here. This was all just a setup, wasn't it?"

"You are very clever Danielle. Even more so than your foolish father in some ways, but it looks as if you were just a bit too late." the smile that he flashed at her sent chills down her spine, it bore no resemblance of love and happiness, just curtly and hate.

Suddenly, shadows started to surround her, drawing nearer every beat of her heart.

She didn't even have enough time to scream.

* * *

"Hey, dude, are you okay?" Danny asked.

Tucker blinked, trying to get his mind back in focus, looking around his destroyed office. "No man, I'm trying to be, but it's hard, not knowing what trouble Danielle's into. I swear, if he gets a hold of her, he'll wish he hadn't."

"I know Tuck. But we'll find her. We will."

"Since when did you become Mr. Optimism? Last I checked, you were the one freaking out the most." Danny knew Tucker didn't mean the little bit of venom that leaked through his words; he understood Tucker was hurting. You saw it in every step he took, in the way he spoke.

"I realized that I have you guys with me. I've been so blind to that lately that I couldn't even see it when you were right in front of me. I'm sorry about that. Maybe if I would have noticed that earlier maybe Danielle would have too."

"Dude, it's okay." He gave Danny a quick pat on the back in reassurance. "We'll figure something out."

"I'm sorry that I was so harsh on you and Danielle about...everything that's been going on. I guess I just want to protect her." He gave a little huff at that, "I've been doing a bang-up job at that, haven't I?"

"Dude, I don't think you and Sam realize something. You and Sam are sixteen years old raising a fourteen-year-old. It's not normal and it's not meant to be. You're doing the best that you can. You're still learning. You gotta take it one day at a time, okay?"

"You're doing a great job. Heck, you're doing everything in your power to find her, and I know you won't rest until you do."

For the first time, Danny actually started to believe that he could do this. He gave a quick nod. "Thanks, dude. By the way... if you, ya know, wanted to ask Danielle to be your girlfriend, officially, I would be okay with it. I know Sam already is."

"Is someone talking about me?" They turned to see Sam standing behind them.

"Hey, where did you run off to?" Danny asked her.

"You won't believe what that fruitloop has here. I think I found the answers to one of our problems."

"Lead the way, oh Queen of Darkness," Tucker gestured.

* * *

"Shit. Nothing's coming up on my ecto-tracker. I'm pretty sure there aren't any natural portals coming up." Valerie said.

Jazz sighed once again. This was the fifth block that they had been on where they had no luck on.

"We can't give up Valerie." No way was she gonna give up on her niece. Fentons didn't give up on each other.

"I'm not giving up on her either Jazz, but this scares me. Why aren't there any portals? Amity is usually swimming with them; this is the most haunted place in the country. You'd think by now we'd find something."

Suddenly both the Ds on Jazz's and Valarie's outfit started to flash, indicating a call. Jazz gave a slight slap to hers.

"Jazz." Danny could be heard over the intercom that was built in, "Are you guys there?"

"Yeah, we're both here. What's up?"

"We found a portal."

* * *

 _Crazy fruitloop_. "So, how'd Sam exactly stumble across this?" Valerie gestured towards the broken green swirls of the Ghost Zone.

"I was looking around when I noticed a slight indentation on the wall. This guy is seriously obsessed with hidden walls. Anyway, there was a keypad, and I decided to try Maddie's birthdate first, and as it turns out, he was crazy about her 'till the end."

Once the wall pulled away, it revealed this." Sam pointed to the portal.

"Okay, so we have a way in. Now we just need transportation." Out of nowhere, Tucker's cell phone started to ring. "Hello?"

"Mr. Mayor. I heard about your accident." The president's voice boomed over the phone, "I was just checking up on you to see if you are well. Is there anything you need? While it can't be anything as before, I'm more than willing to help."

Sam snatched the phone from his hands. "You've been keeping tabs on us haven't you?" When he didn't answer, she took the silence as a yes. "Then you know what we need."

Placing the phone back in the techno-geek hands, Sam stomped off towards the bookshelf, muttering about "government control" or something.

"Yes Mr. Foley, I know that you need transportation into the Ghost Zone, and I have just the thing. A brand new Specter Speeder."

"Let me guess, it's state of the art."

"Yes. I'll send it over now."

"We'll take it, but with all due respect, screw you, President Butch!" And Tucker hung up the phone. "He's sending it now, it'll be here any minute."

Within minutes, a giant drone hovered over the remains of the mayoral office. Four men dressed in brown suits descended from the drone, ropes attached to their hips to keep them from becoming street pizza.

Landing in front of Tucker, one of the men took out a clipboard.

"Sign here, here, initial here and here, oh and a blood seal right here." One of the agents pointed to several places, showing him as to where to sign.

Tuck just looked at them funny at that last request.

"Just kidding, it's not like the government has been collecting souls through lengthy online contracts nobody bothers to read. Jeeze you Midwesterners are crazy."

With everything signed, the men in brown zip backed up to the drone as a giant box hit the ground with tremendous force, breaking open to reveal a brand new Specter Speeder.

"Don't forget anyone who signs up for PearPhone Care get's a year worth of cable for free." The drone soon flies off back from where it came.

Danny pressed the logo on his chest three times, accessing the entire family's intercoms.

"Alright, Fentons, Mansons, and ugh..." Danny looks at Tucker, "Future Fentons. We have the means of entrance, we have transportation. It's now or never. If you get hurt, hurt em' back. If you get killed, walk it off. Now let's go!"

There was a moment of silence over the radio, followed by Jack and Maddie soon repeating that cheesy battle cry.

 _"Team Phantom go!_ "

Everyone _not_ over the age of thirty-five just sighed in embarrassment.

* * *

 **Thanks to my wonderful beta reader, silente faery! She is such an amazing writer! Keep doing what you do! Until next time!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23! This is the second to last chapter, hope you enjoy! Please read and review!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon does.**

* * *

"Valarie, you know the Ghost Zone just as good as Sam, Tucker, and I," Danny said. "I want you to go find Pandora, get her, and bring her to the Shadow Master's lair. It'll be good to have backup. I put in the coordinates into your GPS. You should be able to find it rather quickly. Sounds good?"

She gave a nod in response then left the vehicle, got onto her board and flew off towards Pandora's palace.

"We're all ready to go rescue Danielle?" Danny said to everyone else.

"Yes," The rest of the group said.

"Okay." Pulling on the handles of the Specter Speeder, Danny directed it towards the lair. His heart pounded louder with every inch that they got closer.

Soon enough his lair was in their line of view. He could hear his parents, Jazz, and the Mansons' breath get caught in their throats. He knew how scary this place looked on the outside; hopefully, they wouldn't run away once they saw the inside.

Stepping out of the speeder, the group looked at the size and horrific appearance of the manor.

"Is it just me or did it grow since the last time we were here?" Tucker asked, his voice not more than a whisper.

"I don't know but it doesn't matter," Danny replied. "All that matters is that we find Danielle."

Pamela walked up to the from door, arm raised ready to give an ever formal knock when the door in front burst open in a fiery explosion, pieces of wooden remains falling slowly to the ground. Sam walked past Pamela, allowing her smoking bazooka to rest comfortably on her shoulder.

"Formality went out the window when that bastard took my girl," Sam said with an evil grin.

"Or you could say went out the door, eh? Eh?" Tucker added.

Danny's face cringed at his best friend's sad attempt at coping.

Entering the manor, the group spread out to cover every corner the room has to offer.

"I think the room is clear of any ecto activity," Jack yelled.

"Good, now all we have to do is stick together and not..." Danny paused mid-sentence as there was a strange feeling that went over him.

* * *

He blinked only once and he was back at Fenton Works, more specifically in his bedroom. "Danny, come on," Sam said playfully. "We aren't going to kill those Nazi-Vampires without the help of my favorite Kraut-Slayer." There was Sam sitting in front of the TV, game controller in one hand and a veggie pizza in the other. "I brought snacks, Mr. Hero. Now come on, relax and enjoy. After all, it's what you deserve isn't it, hero?"

"Sam? What's going on?"

She looked at him with confusion."We're having a movie date night, remember? Tucker took Danielle out for dinner, so we decided to have a movie night of our own."

"Oh, yeah. Right."

Why didn't it feel like it though?

* * *

"Tucker, Tuck wake up! You've been oversleeping again poompkins."Tucker opened his eyes to see an older Danielle tapping her foot at the front of his bed. "Good, now that those handsome green eyes are open you can tell me which dress would look better for your inauguration today?" Tucker's eyes blinked in amazement when he saw the beautiful woman standing in front of him holding up two equally nice dresses. "Listen Mr. President Elect you can either sit there goggling at me or you can help me make sure your country get the right picture of us. Now the red says fiesta, like you may be the man in charge but not if my boots disagree with you. Now this blue..."

Tucker was lost in the moment. All of a sudden he realized that he finally had everything he always wanted. He was happy.

But what was he doing before this? It felt important.

* * *

"Sam, are you listening?" Sam's eyes came into focus on Danny wearing a slick black suit. "Come on this place is going to be so amazing. Now I know that I flew us a long way and while you may have been blindfolded you did come dangerously close to figuring out where I was taking us for our one year."

"One year?" Sam asked confused.

"Yeah Goof-Goth, I know we've been busy fighting every ghost from here to Kalamazoo, but a year is a year and man what a year it has been being married to you."

"Where is Danielle?" Sam looked around and to her surprise, it seemed quite familiar. "Did you take us to Transylvania?"

"Don't you remember, she's with my parents; and not just Transylvania but I got the entire three day weekend stay at the original, fully refurbished, Dracula's Castle! Now hurry up my dark queen, soon it shall be night and we shall have our fun spooking the townsfolk and causing riots, all a part of the Dracula's Castle Experience of course."

Sam smiled and embraced her eccentric husband before their night of terror began.

* * *

"Jack, honey I made pancakes. Tall and fluffy just as the doctor ordered." Standing in front of Jack was his ever beautiful wife holding a mountain of flapjacks. "Now I made sure to pick up real homemade butter the last time we were up north. It should give the jacks that salty sweet taste you love."

"Maddie where's Danielle?"

Maddie's mood diminished. "What are you talking about Jack? Isn't this good for you, isn't this what you want?"

"Of course it is. I already have everything that I could possibly want waking up next to you; but this was also an exact replay of this morning before we left to save Danielle, our granddaughter."

"Jack I thought this was good enough for you. I thought I was good enough for you! _Aren't you happy Jack!?_

 _"Jack!"_

Jack's eyes opened to a dark room, shadows everywhere.

Darkness was everywhere, constraining his every move.

The darkness now had hold over his entire family and the Shadow Master's will began to consume them all, all but Danielle. She sat bound to his throne as her entire world blackened around her.

"See child, I warned you that if you would not submit to me your family would," The Shadow Master said. "Danny Phantom may be stronger in force but his will is nothing. And soon nothing is all they shall be. Watch Danielle, see what the fruits of your efforts have produced."

"Danielle! Are you okay?" Jack yelled. He saw Danielle restrained to that monster's throne. Jack's heart dropped in his stomach at the image of his precious granddaughter. He again struggled against the shadows hold, but to no avail, they had too strong of a hold.

Jack felt sick looking at this monster; he was nothing but a mere shadow himself. He could easily tower over Jack in size, all this thing was a shadow, yet it single handedly outwitted them. Its clothes, while black, stood out against its body's form; it was a deeper black, if that was even possible.

"Ah yes, who would have thought the buffoon would be the one to outdo my trance. Well since one of you is conscious, shall we bring the others back to reality?"

One by one the cocoons of darkness sounding Danielle's family began to tighten until they awakened breathless and gasping for air.

"Good morning Fenton Family, or in this case endless night. As you can tell by now, your little rescue has failed and soon you shall all become one with me."

Jack looked around to see everyone he loved bound mid-air in shrouds of darkness. Below he could even Mr. and Mrs. Manson in a shroud of their own.

"Wait this doesn't make any sense. They were wearing Specter Deflectors."

"Oh, you mean those tacky techno belts they're wearing. Weren't they supposed to protect them from my grasp? Well, I hate to say it but that one is not all me, right Danielle? You see when you made your little Holiday deal with Technus to "upgrade" Tucker's PDA, I made sure he gave your equipment a little upgrade of my own."

"Bastard." Danielle spit out.

"Ah ah ah, now Danielle, what have your parents said about using such inappropriate language?"

Jack could feel the darkness tighten around him.

"Well, all things aside, congratulations on being the only one to break my illusion. I guess when one already has a perfect life, not even fantasy can compare. That being said you still made a fool of me, and in front of my special guest too." The Shadow Master looked at Danielle with a toothy grin.

"Now see where your perfect life ends!"

The shadows rapidly advanced around Jack, making it harder and harder to breathe.

"Maddie." Jack gritted out between his teeth, struggling to get out the words. "I'm so happy you chose a buffoon like me. I will always lo.." His last words were overtaken by darkness.

"Jack! Danny, please help, don't let it take you too!" Maddie yelled, but soon the shadow flowed over her voice leaving the room hollow once more.

"Watch as they all join the void and know you could have stopped this."

"Danielle!" Her eyes went to meet that of Tucker's, the blackness slowly starting to engulf his whole being. "Don't you dare blame yourself for this. I know this won't be the last time I see you. You'll kick his butt, I kn-" He couldn't finish his sentence, as he became encased in darkness.

Tears willed themselves in her eyes as she saw everyone she loved gets taken over one by one.

The next person that was becoming closer to being swallowed by those things was Aunt Jazz, and Danielle's heart almost shattered. Not her aunt. She was more like an older sister than anything. She was really the only person in the family with their head on straight, the one that when she's in a hard place, she knew her aunt was someone to go to for rational thought. Her last words were a reassuring smile as if to say _I know you can do this._ Not in words, but it spoke volumes. "Love you." She mouthed.

Mrs. Manson spoke next. "Samantha, we're so sorry for the way we have treated you all these years. We thought we knew best but it was only what we wanted. The truth is we couldn't be more proud of the woman you've become and if I'm all honest we don't even come close. I know it doesn't mean much but..."

"No! You are not fucking saying goodbye!" Sam screamed. "You have been shit parents for years just be shit for a little while longer and focus on yourselves, damn it!" Tears fell from her amethyst eyes as she watched her parents turn to black.

" _Nana_!" Young Danielle screamed. Her restraints tightened with her outburst.

The Shadow Master laughed. "Good, I see you learning the consequences of refusing me, but it's too late. When I am done, darkness will be all you have. Then and only then will you truly be a part of me."

"Yo, Shadow-Jerk!" Danny taunted. "If you're going to rule someone how about you do it to me. Come on, aren't I the great Danny Phantom you always wanted? Take me and let her go."

Smoking through the air the Shadow Master floated in front of Danny with an evil grin gracing his face.

"Well if you insist, I mean it's not every day you have the hero of both realities as your house guest."

With that the Shadow Master plunged his arm into Danny's chest, green ecto spilling from his mouth. Danielle could only watch in horror.

"You, Danny, were always difficult, so powerful, so stubborn, but like all beasts, you must first break them before they become truly yours."

"DAD," Danielle yelled.

"Danny," Sam echoed.

"He was my father... he was my dad!" Anger surged through Danielle shaking her to her core. Her body started to shake uncontrollably.

"Eh I feel you tremble with rage; it feels intoxicating, overtaking my senses in pure joy. Yes, I feel it, your iron will about to snap. Soon you will be begging for my mercy and I will be ever so humble in granting your final wish. Don't worry; your dad is still very much alive, just in terrible pain. But first..." Slithering through the air the Shadow floated above Sam.

"Listen, Danielle, You can't give into him." Looking around at all of them, realization crossed Sam's face. "Danielle, he feeds off of will! The more you give into the past, your anger at yourself, that gives him power. Don't give into that, into the depression.

"You are stronger than him, stronger than any of us. You can win; I believe in you, we all did. We always... will." Shadow overtook her voice.

Silence once again dominated the room.

"All of them, they're all gone, my family, all I have." Danielle cried.

The room began to shake to the rhythm of Danielle's heart.

"ALL OF THEM! YOU TOOK ALL OF THEM!"

The restraints around her became non-existent.

Clenching her fists, Danielle's eyes were sealed shut building the rage in her heart until finally, she couldn't hold it any more.

Her eyes opened revealing glow ectoplasm filled orbs.

" _You monster!"_ She shrieked as the room erupted in pure white light. It spread throughout the Zone, shattering the dark hold over the skies, looking up, the group could see the green swirls returning to their natural place, existing along with the blackness instead of being taken over by it.

The Shadow Master screamed out in pain, releasing her family from the shadow's grips. Her dad, however, was very weak from being stabbed by the Shadow Master through his chest. They were still alive though, still here.

"You little wretch!" The Shadow Master screeched. "How dare you! You are nothing but an experiment, a failure!"

She sent out an ecto-blast, which caught him off guard, planting him on his butt. She slowly, almost tauntingly moved over to where he lay.

Grabbing him by the neck, Danielle pinned him against the mansion wall, baring her teeth in a low growl. She could see the fear start to fester in his empty black eyes.

"I am not a lab rat. My grandparents love and accept me, despite being created by their enemy."

He started shrinking at her words, losing his power. Her will became stronger while he his power over her drained. She could hear her family cheer her on in the background. She knew they were all too weak to join in the fight, which was alright with her. This was fun.

"I am not an abomination, despite being created instead of born."

She threw him to the ground, smirking at the resounding thunk that it made when his body meant the cold broken tile. She could see him try to fight back, but his movements were becoming slower, almost sluggish as she sent another blow to his chest with her foot, knocking him further to the ground. Picking him up by the neck again, she almost paused with him in her hands, lifted mid-air, when she realized that he was physically shrinking. An almost playful evil smile plastered itself on her face.

"I am not trash. My nana and papa took awhile to come around, but they're learning, just as much as I am what unconditional love means."

Each word that rolled off her tongue served almost as a physical punch. And with each punch, he reduced in size; and while it was more effective than the physical assaults, she didn't care; this was some fun misplaced aggression. She didn't even care to use her powers; she was just enjoying the physical fight.

"I'm finally doing something I never thought possible. I'm dating, shopping. I'm finally doing normal teenage things that I love. And you will not stop me. No one can stop me!"

Danielle could feel her strength returning. She could feel his weight lessen each passing moment as she continued to grab him and throw him about. Every crack that echoed in the space from his body meeting a wall, or the ground, only fueled Danielle. She delivered one last hard physical punch to his face, and then quickly and effortlessly threw him into the air to give a hard kick.

"I'm not worthless!"

When he landed back on the ground with a small plunk, Danielle was almost ecstatic to pick up the weak little creature. He was now literally in the palm of her hands.

"How-how can you defeat me?" Gone was the intimidating, scary voice he held only moments ago.

"Because," She turned to see her family, weak and tired, but still there."I finally understand what true love is." She gave a calming smiling. "I finally understand what it means to love myself."

Floating over to her parents, her dad handed over the thermos. Taking the little ghost, she plopped him inside. As he fell in he screamed in his last attempt, "You're not the only halfa I have obtained Child. You're just the only one I didn't have to keep locked away. Now that I'm trapped, who will keep you safe from his wrath?" Knowing he was trying to get to them, they ignored his yells.

Clockwork suddenly appeared, hands out; waiting for the cylinder device.

"Would've been nice if you had shown up a little sooner." Dani said.

He gave a smirk in response. "Now where would the fun in that be?"

"Clockwork?" The old ghost's eyes landed on the young halfa."How was I able to do that? I mean, that power. Dad doesn't even have that."

"Your mother was right Danielle. The Shadow Master feeds off guilt, anger, self-loathing, and despair. That what makes him so powerful. You, my dear, have something that not many have after the things that you've been through."

"What's that?"

A warm smile graced his lips. "A pure heart. It overtook his powers. You have accepted what has happened to you, and even though that doesn't outweigh the good and bad that is still inside you, inside all of us, your choices how you let your past define you is truly the strongest power of all."

"Basically." All eyes landed on Tucker as he spoke. "She has the power to burst shadows away?"

Clockwork just gave a nod towards Tucker.

"Boy, Johnny 13 isn't gonna like us next time he sees us. Speaking of which, where are the rest of the ghosts?"

"Returning back to their lairs. They won't be coming to the human world for a couple weeks to rest up and as a thank you for setting them free."

Danny's D on his chest flashed once. He hit it, and Valerie's voice could be heard.

"Where the heck is the mansion? I have Pandora, but the coordinates… It just keeps sending me further into the Ghost Zone. Pandora said this isn't right."

"Don't worry Valarie. We got it taken care of. The Shadow Master knew we were coming; he must have messed with your board. Just meet us back in the lab. We'll be there shortly."

They heard a sigh over the intercom."So I missed all the action? I really wanted to introduce him to my new weapon." They all chuckled at the disappointment in her voice. "Okay, I'll see you there."

"You did amazing sweetheart," Danny said, wrapping his arms around Danielle.

"We're so proud of you," Sam gushed, also joining in on their hug. Soon enough everyone was engulfed in a loving group hug.

When they parted, Dani went over to Tucker, giving him a short sweet kiss and smiling at his sweet, caring gaze at her.

Finally, after so long being alone, Danielle stood there with her entire family, feeling for once like she belonged somewhere. She did have a family. "Let's go home."

"But jeez," Sam cut in, "Could you be any cheesier at the end there?"

* * *

 **As my beta reader says, all wells that ends well. Thank you silente faery for all you do, you're an awesome beta reader!**

 **There will be an epilogue. Then I will be working on the main story (Seeing as this is more of pre-qual story. It might be a bit before I post the story, cause I wanna really get the skeleton of the story written out so I get a good idea of where I wanna take the story.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24! I can't believe this is the end of story! Stay tuned for the next instalment! Please read and review! Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, Nickelodeon does.**

* * *

Down in what the group thought were the remains of Tucker's Mayoral office, the ghost portal opened to reveal the proudly restored green swirls of a now healthy ecto dimension. Out of that portal came both Specter Speeders piloted by Danielle and Sam, Sam's speeder entering the room with grace and precision.

Danielle, on the other hand, took out the side of the portal, almost completely destabilizing it behind them. Danielle could've sworn she heard her mother mutter, "Gonna have to teach you how to drive this thing," over the Fenton phones that were placed in her and her mom's ears.

She really didn't care; she was exhausted from having to practically carry two groups of people into two different Specter Speeders, seeing as they were able to claim the old one back and everyone - but she and somewhat Sam - was still weak.

They got back in the lab, and greeted Valarie with open arms as everyone exited the Speeder. Grandpa was just settling his feet onto the ground when he took a dive instead of standing. Everyone ran over to him, making sure he was okay, when Danielle noticed something off with her grandpa. Her eyes landed on his left foot.

Or where it should have been.

Right now, a stub took its place and Danielle almost passed out from pure shock. Grandpa, however, seemed unfazed. When everyone else noticed what was missing from the loveable goof, panic broke out.

"It's already cauterized. It must've happened when he was inside that shadow." Grandma concluded after she forces her husband to take a seat. It took at least five minutes to calm down the panicked group. When they did, they decided they would still take Jack to the hospital to get it checked on.

"I don't get why everyone is so worried, it's just a missing limb. Now I can create some cool bionic leg for it! And I can put the name Fenton on it!" His eyes beamed with joy.

Danielle turned to her dad. "Does anything faze him?" He just shrugged his shoulders, unsure if anything truly did.

For the next day and a half her grandpa droned on and on about new blueprints, ideas, and prototypes for a new leg, but for now he's stuck with one that the hospital gave him. He gave a little pout every time he saw it; seeing as it was not what he wanted for a fake leg.

Sam realized something after a little while. "You're grounded. I hope you realize that." She said as everyone settled in the living room in the evening. "That means, no laptop, phone only for emergencies, and no going out with Tucker. For a month."

Danielle gave a defeated sigh, knowing it was better not to argue with her mom. She had hoped she'd forgotten all about a punishment, but to no avail; even with it being over a day since their return, she'd remembered. Sitting next to her nana, she placed her head against the older woman's arm.

* * *

A month passed before Danielle could blink. It was February now and she was about to enjoy some lunch. The cafeteria was abuzz with its typical gossip and talking of the day.

Out of nowhere, Tucker slid in next to her, one arm wrapping around her waist. She just smiled and snuggled closer into his side, continuing to eat her pizza. What she didn't notice was the hand behind him. She looked up from her food to see her parents and Valerie giving a little smirk.

"What's with that look on your faces?"

Tucker then produced the flowers that had been hidden: Red and pink roses. She gasped a little at the sweet surprise, but accepted them with a quick kiss to his lips and placed her head in the crock of his neck in a slight hug. "What's the occasion?"

All smiles fell flat.

"We're really horrible at remembering to tell her about holidays, aren't we?" Danny said to the rest.

After the short explanation of what Valentine's Day was, a blush crept onto her cheeks as Tucker asked, "So Danielle Jane Fenton, would you do me the honor of being my Valentine?" She gave a roll of her crystal blue eyes and gave him another kiss in reply.

Throughout the lunch period, they talked about what everyone's plans were for the special day. Apparently, her parents had dinner reservations and Tucker had two tickets to a Humpy Dumpy concert for them, to which she almost screamed, and tackled him to the ground in a big hug.

Yeah, she was grateful for this life.

* * *

Shooting stars were the best in her opinion. The way in which they sped across the sky just amazed her. She was on the same hill that her parents had said that they had officially gotten together at. It was also the same hill where her mom had run off to when she had just found out that she was her daughter.

That seemed so long ago.

Right now her parents were doing some homework back home, and she decided she needed to step out for some air, to reflect on all that has happened the past few months.

"I can't stand you." She whispered to the night sky. "You caused a lot of hell for me, for my family. For people that just didn't deserve it." She knew Vlad couldn't hear her words, but she needed to say them. She needed them to be heard by her own ears.

"But that's the thing." She paused for the right words. "As much _shit_ that I had to go through, though the traveling by myself at twelve years old, defending myself, hiding from you, there was some good to it. It brought me to my real family."

For the first time in a long time, she let the happy tears flow freely.

"It brought me home." She wiped the tears away with the sleeve of her hoodie. "I don't hate you. I can't. You're not worth the energy it takes to hate someone."

"I'm done blaming myself for things that happen that are out of my control. I will own up to my responsibilities, but things that aren't, things that you have caused, are not my fault. I don't always need to fight to exist. It's okay for me to just live."

"I feel sorry for you. Just complete and utter pity. You'll never understand what true love means, and maybe you do need it. Maybe that's a part of why you are the way that you are. Everyone deserves to know what unconditional love feels like." She placed her hand on her chest, right where her heartbeat.

"So I forgive you. As stupid and naive that sounds, I really do." She paused. "Don't think that means you can come waltzing back down here. If I see you anywhere near my family and boyfriend, I will not hesitate to kick your ass." A shooting star flew across the start, and for one last goodbye, she raised her finger to the twinkling sky.

"Fuck you, Vlad."

She could almost hear her parents say, " _Danielle Jane Fenton,_ " at her swearing.

* * *

Clockwork looked on in amusement from his clock tower as he saw the young girl sitting on top of the hill. So much like her father. He gave a happy sigh, and moved his hands over the orb to see a different scene, years down the line.

A time where Danielle and everyone was happy and everything was as it should-

"What is this?" His eyes squint in confusion at the scene that his orb was presenting him."This can't be right." His eyes shifted to his left to see an important artifact missing from its usual spot. Terror and dread began to fill him as he began to realize the severity of the situation. "Oh no."

Out of nowhere, he heard a disembodied voice call out from the darkened part of his tower. "Don't worry uncle Clockwork." The voice was light and young but had a serious undertone to it. He turned and gasped as his eyes meet electrifying green eyes that almost lit up the whole room alone.

"Everything is as it should be."

* * *

 **And that's where we end this one. I'm so excited to start on the next story for this series! There will be a time jump, it'll take two years from the beginning of this story, making Danielle 16, and the rest 18 (They'll be in their final year of school)**

 **So, question time, what is so bad that it has the master of time so worried, so who reassured him that it was gonna be, alright?**

 **We shall find out soon my awesome readers! Until next time!**

 **Thank you to my beta reader, silente faery! You are wonderful as always.**

 **Sequal is posted 'The Ties that Bind Us.'**


	25. Author Note

Author Note:

Hello all! Husband of writer here. (And co-writer) She went off to bed, but she wants me to let you know that with the sequel of Family Ties (The Ties That Binds Us) is coming to a close, 5 chapters left, I would like to announce that the last story (The Ties That free Us) Will be out June 14th. Now, I know with the second story, Danielle wasn't the main focus and we strayed from the family feels, but with the third story we do plan to get back to the base of what we want the series to incorporate; family. So we would just like you to know, Danielle will be the focus again AND the feeling of family and love and everything that entails will be much more apparent in this story. For those of you who enjoy our darker side do not worry. There will still be tension, suspense, and the occasional twist. There is a method behind our madness, and we plan on having the final installment of this trilogy be a balance between the first two stories. So when the character needs a hug they shall receive plenty but when the plot demands they get the snot kicked out of them we won't be holding back. It has all lead up to this and we hope you have enjoyed the ride.

On a side note I the husband would like everyone's opinion on what they thought of Dan kicking the crud out of crime. If enough people like the idea of a Anti-Hero Dan (canon or non), I will start a side mini series once the trilogy is complete.

Also, we will be revising the second story just a bit, so be on the lookout for that. It should be within the next few weeks.


	26. Author Note: Last One Promise

Okay, this will be the last author note that I will be posting in The Ties That Bind Us and Family Ties. (I want to make sure everyone knows) I have finished my revisions for The Ties That Bind Us. I'm sorry that it came out later than I anticipated, but with school starting up, (I do some summer courses at my college) I've been overloaded with stuff. Now that the first week is over, I've got a more handle on things. Anyway. Please let me know what you think of the revision for The Ties That Bind Us, I always appreciate the feedback. Even CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. Just leave a review and let me know. THANK YOU 3

I will see you guys tomorrow for the third book, The Ties That Free Us


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